Impact of changes in the professional identity of doctors on their relationships with organisational management in the South African Private healthcare sector

Abstract

This study seeks to establish whether the doctor in the private healthcare sector sees their professional identity as being under threat and how this impacts the interrelationships within the organisation in which they work. Healthcare in South Africa is a dynamic, growing industry, in which the private sector accounts for 52% of the total spend, yet there is a disjoint in the relationship between hospital management and the doctor. To combat the trends of increasing costs, competition, customer expectations of quality care and a changing healthcare environment, the doctor and hospital need to improve this relationship. The research involves an exploratory study in the form of twelve doctor semi-structured interviews within the private health sector. A purposive sampling strategy is used to identify doctors who are typical of the identified population so as to gain representative perspectives. This study concludes that a professional identity threat to doctors currently exists. Insight is provided into those characteristics that doctors see as forming their identity and the sources of perceived threats to that identity. Engagement practices that can be considered by the organisational management are proposed with a view to mitigating and managing such changes to the doctor s professional identity.