Can physiotherapists and occupational therapists help mitigate understaffing in nursing care? A qualitative explorative study from Denmark

Background: A shortage of nurses in hospital wards leads to engaging other healthcare professionals. Understanding the experience of professionals involved in this inter-professional collaboration may guide similar processes in the future. Aim: To explore the experience of nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists working in geriatric wards when more therapists were employed for inter-professional collaboration to address the nursing shortage. Method: Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses and therapists. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies used. Findings: All professions experienced that inter-professional cooperation had become more challenging. Nurses experienced a "greater ward overview but less patient connection" and "a burden of responsibility". Physiotherapists and occupational therapists experienced doing "more care tasks and fewer core tasks," which entailed frustration; but gained a better understanding of the care trajectories. Conclusion: Employing more therapists and applying task shifting to mitigate nursing shortages in hospital wards may challenge the existing inter-professional teamwork.