Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OA2-3-5
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Jr. Faculty (less than 5 years in practice)
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
no
Title
Intraoperative Communication Between Residents and Staff Physicians During Awake Patient Surgery
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
In a teaching environment, effective communication is important for patient safety and resident learning; however, little is known about how that communication is affected by the listening patient. The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of communication between consultant physicians and residents during procedures where patients are awake.
Methods
This was a qualitative constructivist grounded theory study. Various pairings of ophthalmology residents and staff physicians were observed in the cataract surgical suite. Following several observed cases, semi-structured interviews were conducted.
Results
The theme of "concealment" was prevalent in most interviews. Much of the language and communication used in the operating room had the purpose of concealing the residents' level of participation in the surgery. The rationale reported for concealing the residents' participation was to not induce patient anxiety and to allow for more resident participation in surgery. Several communication techniques and linguistic strategies were observed in support of concealment. These techniques and strategies facilitated guiding and teaching residents while making the residents' presence and involvement in surgery less apparent to the patient undergoing surgery.
Conclusion
The presence of an awake patient presents challenges for teaching residents. Various verbal and non-verbal techniques are utilized to help ease patient anxiety while concealing the residents' involvement in the surgery. The value of identifying and labelling these techniques is that staff surgeons can be more purposeful and explicit with residents about how they will handle the staff-resident communication in the presence of an awake patient, which could help to minimize the potential for ambiguity and misunderstanding.
Level of Training
Post Graduate
Abstract Themes
Teaching and learning
Additional Theme (First choice)
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Yiannis Iordanous
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
