Physician Communication in the Operating Room

Abstract

In this study, communication research was conducted with multidisciplinary groups of operating-room physicians. Theoretical frameworks from intercultural communication and rhetoric were used to (a) measure latent cultural communication variables and (b) conduct communication training with the physicians. A six-step protocol guided the research with teams of physicians from different surgical specialties: anesthesiologists, general surgeons, and obstetrician-gynecologists (n = 85). Latent cultural communication variables were measured by surveys administered to physicians before and after completion of the protocol. The centerpiece of the 2-hour research protocol was an instructional session that informed the surgical physicians about rhetorical choices that support participatory communication. Post-training results demonstrated scores increased on communication variables that contribute to collaborative communication and teamwork among the physicians. This study expands health communication research through application of combined intercultural and rhetorical frameworks, and establishes new ways communication theory can contribute to medical education.

Collaboration Between Physicians from Different Medical Specialties in Hospital Settings: A Systematic Review

“…Happens becaus of workload, lack of support, culture Frequency and effects of rude communication When exposed to rude, dismissive, aggressive behavior mistakes are made endangering patient safety and making staff feel sad, angry and demotivated Fatahi, Krupic, and Hellström (2015) 49 Sweden Focus groups Consultation Radiology Study radiologists’ experiences of written and oral communication with referring clinicians and its potential implications for decision making and patient care Radiologists emphasize sufficient use of a communication tool. And a preference for oral instead of written communication - - Kirschbaum et al (2015) 16 ) USA Pre- and posttest survey (n = 85) Communication Anesthesiology / Surgery / Obstetrics / Gynecology Measure the effect of multidisciplinary communication training on latent variables of communication Significant increase and decrease in scores supporting more participatory communication and teamwork after training, especially among surgical physicians. Variance in pre training scores of conflict style for each physician group.…”

“… 15 , 49 , 73 In eight studies, a difference between medical specialities was found, with some being more prone to collaborate or rated higher for collaboration and others more likely to express negative behaviours. 3 , 15 , 16 , 26 , 31 , 36 , 37 , 61 A clear overview of which medical speciality is more likely to be collaborative cannot be provided, as most studies only focus on some specific specialties. Remarkably, specialties that are more likely to engage in negative behaviours (radiology, surgery, cardiology) are more often the targeted specialties in studies.…”

“… 14 The literature also shows that personality traits are related to choice of specialty. 15 , 16 As a result, different specialties exhibit different types of behaviour; for example, some are more likely to engage in nonconstructive behaviour or have different conflict styles for resolving issues. 17 , 18 The unique cultures of specialties and characteristics of medical specialists can cause miscommunication and tension that inhibits interphysician collaboration.…”

Trauma team leaders’ non-verbal communication: video registration during trauma team training

“…Silence can also be an avoidant conflict style, associated with attempts to protect one’s self-image within a strong hierarchical structure without being exposed as lacking in knowledge [ 47 , 48 ]. The hierarchical structure in the medical discourse can contribute to participants’ silence (and/or avoidance) rather than a participatory teamwork communication [ 49 ].…”

“…The major advantage is that the recordings allowed us to repeatedly observe the audio-and video-recorded material. However, the cameras did not always include the entire field of view in the emergency room, and could not record events occurring off the screen [ 49 ]. The participants’ work was performed within a limited area around the patient simulator, meaning that other team members could stand in the way of the camera and thereby complicate the analysis.…”