Communication Preferences With Attending Surgeons Among Surgical Team Members

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Communication
• Surgical Team Dynamics
• Patient Safety Research

Background:

• High-quality surgical patient care relies on effective multidisciplinary team coordination.
• Optimal patient safety is intrinsically linked to robust team communication strategies.
• Understanding preferred communication modes is crucial for enhancing surgical team interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate preferred communication methods between surgical team members and attending surgeons.
• To identify opportunities for improving team communication frameworks within surgical departments.
• To inform strategies for optimizing information exchange in surgical patient care.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous survey was distributed to surgery department, perioperative services, and hospital administration staff.
• Respondents ranked preferred communication modes with attending surgeons (e.g., in-person, phone, electronic).
• Communication preferences were analyzed based on professional role and departmental experience.

Main Results:

• In-person and phone communication were ranked highest across all respondent groups.
• Pagers were the least preferred communication method.
• Non-attending staff preferred in-person communication more than attending surgeons, who preferred email less.

Conclusions:

• Verbal communication methods are generally preferred over electronic or non-verbal channels for interacting with attending surgeons.
• Current communication practices may benefit from de-emphasizing electronic methods in favor of direct interaction.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of enhanced verbal communication frameworks on patient outcomes.