Social structures in the operating theatre: how contradicting rationalities and trust affect work

Area of Science:

• Healthcare professional collaboration
• Surgical team dynamics
• Organizational psychology in medicine

Background:

• Surgical teams often exhibit suboptimal cohesion and frequent communication failures.
• The influence of social, cultural, and organizational contexts on these issues remains under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how surgical healthcare professionals orient themselves to their tasks.
• To examine the impact of social and organizational context on this orientation and team function.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews with 15 surgical team members across all professional categories.
• Utilized a virtual operating theatre model to aid reflection during interviews.
• Employed thematic analysis and activity analysis of interview data.

Main Results:

• Disparities in professional activity orientation lead to varied perceptions of work and interpersonal tension.
• Inadequate social and organizational support creates communication barriers, hindering information sharing.
• These factors contribute to poor team functionality and communication failures in surgical settings.

Conclusions:

• Promoting cross-professional interaction can foster shared understanding, social cohesion, and trust.
• Improved organizational structures are needed to decrease communication thresholds within surgical teams.
• Further research is required to determine optimal organizational strategies for enhancing surgical team performance.