Doctors and Nurses: Stereotypes and Stereotype Change in Interprofessional Education

Abstract

Effective working relationships between doctors and nurses are often thought to be hampered by inter-group stereotypes. It is argued that more collaborative teamworking would be enhanced by the fostering of positive stereotypes, including autostereotypes (stereotypes of one's own profession) and the diminution of negative stereotypes between the professions. This paper presents data about stereotypes held by medical and nursing students who participated in a programme of interprofessional education. The existence of strong positive and negative stereotypes was demonstrated, together with considerable mutual inter-group differentiation: nurses were seen by both groups as caring, dedicated and good communicators and neither arrogant nor detached; doctors were confident, decisive and dedicated but arrogant. There was evidence of some beneficial effects of interprofessional education in diminishing negative heterostereotypes, at least over the course of the programme.