title: Is the doctor-nurse game being played?
abstract: Forty years ago, Leonard Stein outlined his theory of the doctor-nurse game. In 1990, he revisited his theory and found that the game he had described no longer existed, mainly because nurses were no longer willing to play. Since the publication of the original theory, attempts have been made to professionalise nursing and to negotiate a sense of identity within the somewhat patriarchal doctor-nurse relationship. I believe, despite denials from the nursing establishment, the doctor-nurse game continues, and changes to the profession have not been as far-reaching in this respect as hoped.
authors.affiliation: School of Health, University of Wolverhampton.
authors.forename: Dean-David
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Holyoake
mesh_terms: D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D024382:Professional Role; D006113:United Kingdom