Whiteboards: mediating professional tensions in clinical practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Communication
• Clinical Ethnography
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Whiteboards are prevalent in clinical settings, serving multiple communication functions.
• Previous research has not fully explored the complex roles of whiteboards in healthcare interactions.
• Understanding these roles is crucial for improving interprofessional communication and patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the multifaceted roles of whiteboards in clinical communication.
• To analyze how whiteboards mediate professional relationships and manage sensitive information.
• To examine the impact of whiteboards on the visibility of nursing contributions and power dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Conducted two independent ethnographic studies in operating rooms and oncology wards.
• Utilized fieldwork, including observations and interviews with photographic methods.
• Employed deconstructive analysis to interpret communication practices.

Main Results:

• Whiteboards function as hybrid tools for directives, tension mediation, and mitigating face-threatening acts.
• They serve as focal points for coordinating clinical work and disseminating information.
• Whiteboards facilitate policing and disciplining staff, creating distance and potentially masking symbolic violence.

Conclusions:

• Whiteboards are pseudo-synchronous, enabling communication at a distance.
• While economizing communication, they can perpetuate the invisibility of nurses' contributions.
• They may mask symbolic violence within and between healthcare professionals.