Interprofessional jousting and medical tragedies: strategies for enhancing professional relations

In 1990, the AANA Council for Public Interest in Anesthesia (CPIA) in conjunction with Anesthesia Professional Liability Services Inc. and the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company surveyed AANA members to identify stressors that have the most impact on performance, health, and the risk of a lawsuit. The results were presented that year in the AANA Annual Meeting's keynote address. Among the most significant findings was dysfunctional CRNA/physician relationships. In light of this finding, the CPIA and The St. Paul developed and sponsored a one-day enhancing professional relations workshop which has been offered at the past five annual meetings. This article summarizes the activities and key learnings from that workshop.