Nurses' perceptions and experiences of communication in the operating theatre: A focus group interview

Abstract

Background: Communication programmes are well established in nurse education. The focus of programmes is most often on communicating with patients with less attention paid to inter-professional communication or skills essential for working in specialised settings. Although there are many anecdotal reports of communication within the operating theatre, there are few empirical studies. This paper explores communication behaviours for effective practice in the operating theatre as perceived by nurses and serves as a basis for developing training. Methods: A focus group interview was conducted with seven experienced theatre nurses from a large London teaching hospital. The interview explored the..