The interaction between hospital psychologists and nursing professionals is examined in order to identify the multidisciplinary activity aspects. Seven hospital psychologists and three nurses were interviewed. Also, the psychologists' activities carried out in different hospital settings were observed. The results were analyzed qualitatively through three synergic steps: description, inductive analysis and critical analysis. The description and the inductive analysis brought up the hierarchical power and doctors' reduced vision as obstacles to the multidisciplinary practice. While nursing acknowledges the importance of the psychological intervention, they consider psychologists rarely justify its importance to the team. The critical analysis showed that the multidisciplinary practice depends on the psychologist to displace the focus from the illness towards a more integrated vision of the health-illness process. Such a displacement involves the competency to justify psychological procedures in a clear and objective way.
nurses; hospitals; psychological intervention
