Changed occupational roles in health care. One solution to several problems?

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att fördjupa kunskapen om hur en uppgiftsväxling, som uppstår genom att man inför en ny yrkesroll till ett redan befintligt system av yrkesroller, påverkar de enskilda yrkesrollerna i detta system. Teori: Studien utgår från Andrew Abbotts professionsteori “The System of Professions” - Att se till den enskilda yrkesrollen i ett system av flera yrkesroller, och hur de påverkar varandra genom inter- och intraprofessionella mekanismer. Metod: Studien har en kvalitativ ansats med djupintervjuer som insamlingsmetod för materialet. Resultat: Införandet av servicemedarbetare påvisar en uppgiftsväxling med direkta effekter på både under- och sjuksköterskor. Uppgiftsväxlingen har sannolikt även initierat en pågående professionaliseringsprocess genom akutmottagningen som system, där undersköterskans yrkesroll uppvisar tydliga förändringar. Abstract In Skåne University hospital in Malmö (UMAS), so called service workers (servicemedarbetare) has been introduced as a new career role to ease the work load at the hospital, but also, partly, to fight the youth employment in the region by recruiting young people. The introduction of service workers indicates a task shifting process, where tasks are delegated from nurses (RN’s and EEN’s) to these less educated health workers, considering further ways of shifting tasks across the professional hierarchy. This task shifting process has positively affected the two categories of nurses, and indicates an ongoing professionalization throughout the “system” of professional occupational roles. Therefore, it may be relevant to discuss whether this new, subordinated, career role belongs to the future of medical care. In terms of efficiency, quality and community investment. This study is based on Andrew Abbott's professional theory "The System of Professions", from which the introduction of service workers could be explained as an external disturbance that leads to a chain of task shiftings. The focus is to observe the individual occupational role in a system of multiple occupational roles, and how they interact through inter- and intraprofessional mechanisms. Hence, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of how a task shifting process, arising from the introduction of a new career role in an already existing system of occupational roles, affects the individual roles in this system. Skåne University hospital in Malmö (UMAS) is used as an example