How Do Nurses and Physicians Engage in Professional and Managerial Work? A Study of Distributed Leadership in Primary Care Centers in Sweden

Abstract The article aims to understand how changes in nurses' and physician's daily work create opportunities for distributed leadership outside formal managerial positions. The paper demonstrates ways in which nurses and physicians are engaged in distributed leadership locally at primary care centers. The study involves in-depth interviews with nurses, physicians, and managers at Primary Care centers in Sweden. The study uncovers three basic mechanisms through which nurses and physicians engage in distributed leadership. The study shows how the two groups differ in how they are able to draw benefits from engaging in distributed leadership.