Background: An operating room (OR) environment is challenging and complicated. At any given time, several vital tasks are being performed by skilled individuals, including physicians, nurses, and ancillary staff. There is a potential for multifactorial mistakes; many arise because of communication issues.
Methods: To evaluate the current state of perceptions of interdisciplinary communication in an OR setting, a survey was developed and administered to four academic residency training departments of anesthesiology in a single U.S. state.
Results: The results of this survey show that perceived poor communication within the OR leads to a lack of emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach to patient care in the OR.
Conclusions: Survey data can be used internally to identify shortcomings in communication at a facility, to stress the importance of communication, and to serve as a powerful education tool to potentially improve patient care. Through this type of survey, which emphasizes communication in the OR, stakeholders can work more effectively to improve patient care and decrease adverse outcomes in the hospital environment.