Effective communication is overly important in the operation theatre. It is one of the ideal ways of ensuring that the operation theatre is operating efficiently. However, this has emerged to be a challenging task with the vastly changing healthcare system and the heightened complexities in patient care. Rather than having one individual conduct a surgery, modern healthcare requires that the joint efforts of the healthcare professionals in the operation theatre take play. Given this, communication is primal to coordinate the teamwork efforts. Healthcare professionals find this to be a challenge, and hence, leading to unintended morbidity (Weller et al., 2014). Research shows that over 234 million operation procedures are conducted every year and 73.6 percent of these surgical procedures are performed in developed countries, such as the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Nonetheless, an estimated 16 percent of these procedures conducted in developed countries end up being morbid. To a greater extent, such surgical errors are caused by a collapse in communication among the healthcare professionals in operation theatres. The consequential economic costs include: disabilities, litigation costs, further hospitalization, lost income, infections, medical expenses and deaths (Weldon et al, 2013). As such, it is inevitable to address the issue of communication breakdown in the operation theatres by inducing appropriate changes that will facilitate effective communication, which is in line with the mission, vision and values of the healthcare organization.
Patient safety enhanced only when there is proper information transfer when operations are being performed. Surgeons, operating department practitioners (ODPs), theatre nurses, anesthetists, surgical trainees, nurse and medical students all work in an operation theatre. However, they all possess varying levels of expertise and experience, with respect to working in the operating theatre, and they all come from diverse backgrounds. It is often presumed that the surgical operation is merely dependent on the operation surgeon’s technical skills but, in reality, the operation procedure is a social situation, that is, the success of the task depends on the effectiveness of the communication among the team members. Withal, a communication breakdown hinders the efficiency of the operation theatre and is often attributed to conflicts in power relations, role identities and educational factors. Actually, in the undergraduate medical curriculum, great attention is drawn to the doctor-patient communication rather than emphasizing on the importance of training the medical students on how to develop effective communication networks with their fellow healthcare professionals. As a result, the healthcare workers in the operation theatre organize information differently, in line with their varying educational programs, hence hindering proper communication (Weldon et al, 2013). Moreover, theatre nurses and ODPs often conflict on the basis of the roles: assisting the surgeons. This struggle is attributed to lack of sound communication between the conflicting groups of healthcare professionals (Timmons and Tanner, 2004). Besides, effective communication is barred by the hierarchical structure of the healthcare system. For instance, a theatre nurse conceals his or her concerns on diagnosis since he or she feels that the surgeon is senior and cannot be challenged whatsoever. A communication breakdown results in delays, wastages, procedural errors, inefficiency and tension among the healthcare professional (Weldon et al, 2013). These adversities are critically detrimental to the operations of the operation theatre.
However, with appropriate changes to the communication system, the situation can be resuscitated. The change made to the communication system will be supported by different strategies. First, the healthcare professionals working in the operation theatre have to be trained together with the use of simulation. It is calculated to help the team members understand roles and share information. Secondly, democracy should be embraced by the team in that each member is encouraged to give a contribution during decision making. Effective communication is overly important in the operation theatre. It is one of the ideal ways of ensuring that the operation theatre is operating efficiently. However, this has emerged to be a challenging task with the vastly changing health care system and the heightened complexities in patient care. Rather than having one individual conduct a surgery, modern healthcare requires that the joint efforts of the healthcare professionals in the operation theatre take play. Communication is primal to coordinate the teamwork efforts. Healthcare professionals find this to be a challenge, and hence, leading to unintended morbidity (Weller et al., 2014). Research shows that over 234 million operation procedures are conducted every year, and 73.6 percent of these surgical procedures are performed in developed countries, such as the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Nonetheless, an estimated 16 percent of these procedures conducted in developed countries end up being morbid. To a greater extent, such surgical errors are caused by a collapse in communication among the healthcare professionals in operation theatres. The consequential economic costs include disabilities, litigation costs, further hospitalization, lost income, infections, medical expenses and deaths (Weldon et al., 2013). It is inevitable to address the issue of communication breakdown in the operation theatres by inducing appropriate changes that will facilitate effective communication, which is in line with the mission, vision and values of the healthcare organization.
Patient safety enhanced when there is proper information transfer when operations are being performed. Surgeons, operating department practitioners (ODPs), theatre nurses, anesthetists, surgical trainees, nurse and medical students all work in an operation theatre. However, they all possess varying levels of expertise and experience, with respect to working in the operation theatre, and they all come from diverse backgrounds. It is often presumed that the surgical operation is merely dependent on the operation surgeon’s technical skills. However, the operation procedure is a social situation in reality that is, the success of the task depends on the effectiveness of the communication among the team members. Withal, a communication breakdown hinders the efficiency of the operation theatre, and is often attributed to conflicts in power relations, role identities and educational factors. In the undergraduate medical curriculum, great attention is drawn to the doctor-patient communication rather than emphasizing the importance of training the medical students on how to develop effective communication networks with their fellow healthcare professionals. As a result, the healthcare workers in the operation theatre organize information differently, in line with their varying educational programs, hence hindering proper communication (Weldon et al., 2013). Moreover, Theatre Nurses and ODPs often conflict on the basis of the roles: assisting the surgeons. This struggle is attributed to lack of sound communication between the conflicting groups of healthcare professionals (Timmons and Tanner, 2004). Besides, effective communication is barred by the hierarchical structure of the healthcare system. For instance, a theatre nurse conceals his or her concerns on diagnosis since he or she feels that the surgeon is senior and cannot be challenged whatsoever. A communication breakdown results in delays, wastages, procedural errors, inefficiency and tension among the healthcare professional (Weldon et al., 2013). These adversities are critically detrimental to the operations of the operation theatre.
However, with appropriate changes to the communication system, the situation can be resuscitated. The change made to the communication system will be supported by different strategies. First, the healthcare professionals working in the operation theatre have to be trained together with the use of simulation. It is calculated to help the team members understand roles and share information. Secondly, democracy should be embraced by the team in that each member is encouraged to give a contribution during decision making. The flat hierarchy technique can be embraced. The aim of this change is to build trust among the team members. Finally, the changes in the communication system will have to be supported by the procedures and protocols of the organization. For instance, the daily activities’ timetable should take into consideration structured operation theatre briefings right before operation procedures are performed (Weller et al., 2014). It is necessary to ensure that there is proper communication among the healthcare professionals. Changing the communication system is a bold initiative that involves a lot of difficulties, but is worth the struggle.
It is imperative to ascertain that the change made to the communication system of the operation theatre department aligns to the mission, vision and values of the organization, as a whole. Operation procedures will be carried out efficiently thus reducing morbidity by enhancing effective communication in the operation theatre. It is in line with the values of the hospital of respect for life and compassionate concern in regard to the patients. Through encouraging team members to contribute during decision making, everybody in the team is motivated to deliver the best service to the patients without coercion, which is aligned to the hospital’s values of joyful service. Moreover, quality and successful operation procedures are a representation of the continuity of Christ’s Ministry, which is the organization’s mission. This process is fortified by the fact that the change in the communication system ensures that the team members are put on a level ground. It is regardless of their experience and educational level (Weller et al., 2014). As a result, the values of Christian stewardship and fidelity to the hospital’s mission are conserved. Finally, the change upholds the professional standard that puts the patients’ safety above everything.
Subsequently, the change has to be implemented, and the Kurt Lewin’s model of change emerges to be ideal for this situation. It is because the model is simple, yet effective when implementing change in the operation theatre communication system. It involves three stages: unfreezing, change and refreezing. It is easy for the operation theatre workers understand it and embrace the change. Additionally, the fact that the model aims to resolve social conflict in the operation theatre through change makes it effective in the long term perspective (Tyson, 2010). Through the three stages of the model, the communication system of the theatre department will be changed successfully.
Unfreeze
At this stage, the operation theatre workers will be prepared to concur that change is inevitable. It will involve pointing out the faults in the existing status quo. For instance, the increased morbidity in surgical procedures, increased wastage of resources, dampened patient satisfaction and the eminent role and power conflicts in the department. In essence, the attitudes, values and beliefs of the operation theatre workers will be challenged. As a result, the team will develop a strong motivation to be receptive of novel ways of operating while discarding (unfreezing) from the current operation mode. The leader, the change agent, must be adept in the depth, nature, interest and the environment of the change (Burnes, 2004). It is necessary to avoid unnecessary change.
Change
After convincing the operation theatre workers that change is necessary, it is not automatic that all the team members will be persuaded. The leader has to consider the resisting and supporting forces in order to ensure that the support surpasses the opposition. For instance, surgeons can resist the flat hierarchy due to the benefits they gain in the current status quo. The plan for the change in the communication system is then made in the presence of all the affected members. The leader has to possess strong interpersonal skills so as to support the team members as they embrace change. Also, the leader has to serve as a role model for the rest of the operation theater workers to look up to (Burnes, 2004). Finally, the plan will be implemented. For instance, the surgeons, ODPs, theatre nurses and anesthetists will be trained together through simulation. The flat hierarchy is embraced among the team members, and mistakes should be accepted rather than being condemned. The workers should be trained and coached on how to use non-verbal communication during operations, and their roles should be accurately defined (Weller et al., 2014). At this point, the workers are adapting to the new communications system; however, this is not the place to culminate the change efforts.
Refreezing
The refreezing stage whereby the leader reinforces the communication system change as it is adopted as the new status quo. The leader has to be supportive and patient since this stage takes time to work out for refreezing to be successful. For instance, the leader can ensure that the change in the communication system is supported by the procedures and protocols of the hospital. This process can be achieved by encouraging information sharing through briefings and checklists (Weller et al., 2014). Finally, the leader ought to encourage an organizational culture that is in support of the communication system change. The purpose of this stage is to prevent the resuming of pre-change behaviors (Burnes, 2004).
References
Burnes, B. (2004, December). Kurt Lewin and complexity theories: back to the future? Journal
of Change Management, 4 (4) p. 309-325.
Timmons, S. & tanner, J. (2004, July 29). A Disputed Occupational Boundary: Operating
Theatre Nurses and Operating Department Practitioners. Journal of Sociology of Health & Illness, 26 (5), DOI: 10.1111/j.0141-9889.2004.00409.x. pp. 645-666.
Tyson, B. (2010, August 25). Overview of Lewin's Three Stage Change Mode. Bright Hub PM.
Retrieved from <http://www.brighthubpm.com/change-management/84148-overview-of-lewins-three-stage-change-model/>
Weldon, S.M., Korkiakangas, T., Bezemer, J and Kneebone, R. (2013, November 14).
Communication in the Operating Theatre. British Journal of Surgery, 100 (13), p. 1677-1688.
Weller, J., Boyd, M. & Cumin, D. (2014, January 7).Teams, Tribes and Patient Safety:
Overcoming Barriers to Effective Teamwork in Healthcare. Postgraduate Medicine Journal. Doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2012-131168. pp.149–154.
