Team Communication in the Operating Room: A Measure of Latent Factors From a National Sample of Nurse Anesthetists

Medical errors more often result from miscommunication among providers than lack of medical knowledge. The consequences of miscommunication are well documented, but there is less information about factors contributing to communication errors among providers. In this study, surveys were administered to a national sample of 3,000 nurse anesthetists to measure variables associated with communication attitudes and behaviors. The specific variables measured in the survey were latent cultural factors that contribute to communication behaviors. Previous research found these latent variables contribute to miscommunication among operating room physicians, resulting in patient-related errors that could be avoided. The survey used for this study was based on an intercultural communication theory. Survey items were modified to reflect operating room culture, specifically nurse anesthetist communication. Exploratory factor analyses were used to analyze the survey data. The analyses found distinct patterns of latent cultural communication variables in the sample of 474 completed responses. The communication profiles that resulted from this study can be compared with previously collected physician data to help explain how miscommunication occurs among interprofessional groups of operating room providers, resulting in medical error. Knowledge of these latent variables can be translated to more effective communication training protocols in the future.