General phenomenon and communication experience of physician and nurse in night shift communication: A qualitative...

This paper explored the general phenomenon and psychological experience of the special background communication in night shift medical staff and provides better reference for night shift communication between doctors and nurses.

Physician-nurse communication has always been an important agenda for health care work and an important concept in nursing theory. During night shifts, effective doctor and nurse communication can enhance mutual trust, provide timely and appropriate medical services to patients, reduce adverse events and enhance patient safety.

A qualitative study was conducted.

Husserl's descriptive phenomenology method and semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to collect data from 8 nurses and 5 doctors. Colaizzi's method was used to analyse data using MAXQDA 12. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was followed (see Appendix S1).

Three themes were extracted after sorting out and refining: the need to achieve goals in night-time physician-nurse communication; obstacles in night-time physician-nurse communication; and relationship culture in night-time physician-nurse communication.

Attention should be paid to the particularity of night shift and efficiency of achieving the goal of communication between doctors and nurses on night shift, and the hidden obstacles behind communication between doctors and nurses. Managers should pay attention to the cultural construction of night shift communication in the system, form a good night shift communication process and regularly train doctors' and nurses' related communication skills. And they should also study relationship culture rationally to improve the communication efficiency of night shift.

The experiences described in this study contribute to a better understanding of obstacles hidden behind night shift physician-nurse communication. This also provides valuable information to professional managers who develop good doctor-nurse relationship culture.