other support and managerial personnel has
increased.1 At the same time, however, health
professionals perceive an erosion in their
autonomy which undermines their satisfaction
with their work and contributes to job turnover
and an unstable dissatisfied workforce. Over
the past decade managers have increasingly
turned to efficiency models for restructuring
healthcare settings, drawing from manufacturing
examples which emphasise teamwork over
professional autonomy. Many of these ventures
have failed to produce more efficient or
effective care and, in the process, have given
teamwork a bad name,2 especially among
nurses who perceive a direct relationship
between managerial mandates of reengineering
involving teams and their deteriorating
working conditions.3