Physician behaviors associated with increased physician and nurse communication during bedside interdisciplinary rounds

• Published in: Journal of hospital medicine 2023-10, Vol.18 (10), p.888-895
• Main Authors: Huang, Kelly X., Chen, Caitlin K., Pessegueiro, Antonio M., Dowling, Erin, Dermenchyan, Anna, Natarajan, Aishwarya, Krishnan, Dhwani, Vangala, Sitaram S., Simon, Wendy M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Interdisciplinary aspects; Medical students; Verbal communication
• ISSN: 1553-5592; 1553-5606
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.13189

BackgroundEffective team communication during interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) is a hallmark of safe, efficient, patient‐centered care. However, there is limited understanding of optimal IDR structures and procedures.ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze direct observations of physician and nurse interactions during bedside IDR to identify behaviors associated with increased interprofessional communication.Designs, Settings and ParticipantsTrained observers audited general medicine ward rounds at an academic medical center using a standardized tool to record physician and nurse behavior and communication in 1007 patient encounters in October 2019 to March 2020.ResultsThere were significant differences in physician and nurse interaction time among physicians with different levels of training, with attendings demonstrating higher interaction time than residents (5.4 ± 4.6 vs. 4.3 ± 3.7 min, p = .02) and interns or medical students (3.0 ± 3.2 min, p = .002). Attendings were more likely to initiate a conversation about nurse concerns (76.9%) compared to residents (67.9%) and interns or medical students (59.3%, p = .03). Early nurse participation in bedside visits was associated with increased physician and nurse interaction time (5.0 ± 4.6 vs. 1.9 ± 1.7 min, p