Negotiating Professional Tasks in a Hospital: A Qualitative Study of Rheumatologists and Occupational Therapists in the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis.

Negotiations over tasks do not take place from equal power positions when status and knowledge hierarchies frame professional practices. The enactment of tasks is concurrently highly influenced by the arena of the workplace, where the two professional groups both cross boundaries and work together in concert despite professional differences in order to meet patient interests and provide relevant healthcare.