Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing
Clinical IssuesNurse‐Physician Communication During Labor and Birth: Implications for Patient Safety
Section snippets
Design
Focus group methodology (Kitzinger & Barbour, 1999) was used to explore expert labor nurses’ views of their role in caring for women during labor and their ability to affect clinical outcomes. In‐depth interviews (Johnson, 2002) of obstetricians from the same institutions were used to explore their opinions of whether expert labor nurses influenced labor and birth outcomes and to verify nurses’ perceptions of interdisciplinary interactions during labor. Institutional review board approval was
A Common Goal
Nurses and physicians shared a common goal for the outcome of labor and birth, a healthy mother and baby.
Nurse: Our ultimate goal is for a healthy baby and a health mom. Babies come out two ways, vaginally and by cesarean section. We do our best to make sure either way turns out fine.
Physician: My overall goal is a happy mom and a happy healthy baby and to achieve that I am willing to be flexible about a lot of the details. Some things are immaterial to me as long as those goals are achieved.
Discussion: Implications for Perinatal Patient Safety
Patient safety is predicated on trust, open communication, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork. Communication implies a transfer of information. Ideally that information is accurate and timely, and conveyed with mutual respect. Teamwork is a complementary relationship of interdependence (Sherwood, Thomas, Bennett, & Lewis, 2002). Nurses and physicians must rely on each other during labor; each contributing a unique aspect of care needed for optimal outcomes. Effective teamwork requires
Conclusions
Overall, physicians and nurses viewed each other and their routine interactions during labor favorably. They seemed generally happy with their current methods and amounts of communication and teamwork. Both indicated they trusted and respected each other for the most part and “worked well together.” The common goal of a healthy mother and baby was mentioned often in the discussions.
Yet, descriptions of their patterns of communication and behaviors were not always reflective of effective
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