A nursing perspective on the relationship between nursing and allied health in inpatient rehabilitation

Purpose. To generate a deeper understanding of contextual factors influencing nursing's contribution to inpatient rehabilitation units in Australia. Method. Grounded theory informed by the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism. Data were generated by interviews with nurses and observation of their everyday practice. Results. Nursing and allied health work in inpatient rehabilitation was segregated by divided and dividing work practices. Several contextual conditions contributed to the segregation. These were 'limited acknowledgment of nursing's complex role', 'divisive work practices' and 'discontinuous teamwork'. Segregation limited the extent to which nurses could contribute to patient rehabilitation. Conclusion. The delivery of multi-professional inpatient rehabilitation is complex. By focusing efforts to ameliorate segregation, progress can be made towards optimizing the contribution of all disciplines to patient rehabilitation.