Still just the nurse? A critical inquiry into nurses' struggles for autonomy in interprofessional hospital teams.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

To explore how nurses in interprofessional hospital teams experience and negotiate professional autonomy within hierarchical decision-making environments.

Background

Nurse autonomy is essential for safe, patient-centred care, yet it is often constrained by institutional protocols, electronic order-entry systems, and interprofessional hierarchies. While international literature highlights systemic barriers, little is known about the subtle strategies nurses use to reclaim influence within team-based hospital contexts, particularly in Middle Eastern healthcare settings.

Design

A qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological design was employed, following COREQ guidelines.

Methods

Seventeen registered nurses working in polyclinics affiliated with King Faisal Univer

SUBMITTER: Khaled Al Abdulqader A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12570814 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature