Physicians and nurses work hand in hand when caring for patients. Nurses and
physicians both have different roles in the care, but they are both required for an effective care
plan. Physicians are the oldest group of practicing medical professionals. The role of the
physician in the practice of medicine is central to treatment because they are the ones that
diagnose abnormalities, evaluate the health of a patient, and prescribe the appropriate treatment
(Shi & Singh, 2019). The nursing profession on the other hand is much more recent in invention.
Beginning in World War I, women flocked to hospitals to help physicians in the care of patients
(Shi & Singh, 2019).
While nurses and physicians are similar in that they are integral to each other in the care
of patients, their training is very different. Physicians are required to obtain advanced degrees in
medicine. Once they obtain that advanced degree, they are then required to complete a
supervised internship (or residency) program, pass a licensing examination, and obtain a license
to practice medicine in the state where they practice medicine (Shi & Singh, 2019). Nurses, by
contrast have two options of training. Nurses have the choice of either obtaining an associate’s
degree or a bachelor’s degree in nursing, both which will require a clinical aspect that lasts
between two and three years (Shi & Singh, 2019). Once a nursing student has completed their
chosen degree path, they must complete a national certification test and then become licensed in
the state where they intend to work.
The relationship between a care provider, such as physicians and nurses, and a patient is
one of utmost importance when creating and implementing an effective plan of care. The
effectiveness of these plans is measured by the patient’s quality of life during, and after, the
implementation and duration of this plan of care. One of the often overlooked measures of
effectiveness when it comes to patient plans of care is the patient’s satisfaction with his care.
Chang et al. (2012) found that interpersonal-based medical service encounters will positively
influence the satisfaction of patients and the quality of the service that patients receive. Chang et
al. (2012) also found that he differences for patients’ perceptions of the professional skill and
communication attitude of personnel in interpersonal-based medical service encounters will
influence patients’ overall satisfaction with their medical care and quality of life. Because
patient satisfaction is something that has not been explored until recently, there are a limited
number of research studies on the measure of patient satisfaction and its correlated effect on a
patient’s successful recovery. One such study found that low mortality and high patient care
success rates among surgery patients was directly correlated with high patient satisfaction. The
study found that patients who were confident in the ability of their surgery team before they had
surgery were more likely to have a positive surgery outcome (Kennedy et al., 2014).
The interactions that physicians and nurses have with their patients can leave impressions
that will last forever. I know that I feel better when meeting with physicians and I see that they
have a positive working relationship with their nurses. If I see a cohesive team relationship
between the physician and his nursing staff, I know that I am going to receiving a high level of
care and I will likely have a good outcome. When Paul told Timothy “Let no one despise you for
your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity”
((English Standard Version Bible, 2001, 1 Timothy 4:12) he was telling him to treat everyone
with a patient and loving way. By seeing doctors and nurses treating not only their patients, but
each other in this manner, patient outcomes will be positive in almost every case. I say almost
every case because we don’t know what is in God’s plan for us and sometimes our will is not his.
Work Cited
Chang, C.-S., Chen, S.-Y., & Lan, Y.-T. (2013). Service Quality, trust, and patient satisfaction in
interpersonal-based medical service encounters. BMC Health Services Research, 13(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-22
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). 1Timothy 4:12 ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Kennedy, G. D., Tevis, S. E., & Kent, K. C. (2014). Is there a relationship between patient
satisfaction and favorable outcomes? Annals of Surgery, 260(4), 592–600.
https://doi.org/10.1097/sla.0000000000000932
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2019). Essentials of the U.S. health care system (5th ed.). Jones and
Bartlett Publishers.
