Paper Contents
Abstract
This research investigates the communication dynamics of surgical teams within a major military medical facility using social network analysis (SNA). Recognizing that effective communication is crucial for patient safety and team performance, the study employs an exploratory, prospective, and cross-sectional design to map and analyze interpersonal relationships within the operating room (OR). Data will be collected via sociometric surveys from clinicians across 13 surgical specialties in an 11-OR, 138-bed teaching hospital that performs over 11,000 annual procedures. The study will examine how OR culture, power dynamics, and interpersonal connections influence communication patterns. SNA metrics, including centrality measures, geodesic distance, network density, and centralization, will be used to evaluate individual, interpersonal, and group-level communication effectiveness. Regression analyses will assess the impact of team familiarity, size, and clinician composition on communication performance. The anticipated outcomes include identifying key network factors influencing communication, informing the development of targeted interventions to enhance team cohesion and operational efficiency, and potentially guiding the creation of improved perioperative staffing models. While acknowledging limitations related to the military setting's generalizability and the exclusion of purely supervisory roles, this research aims to provide novel insights into optimizing communication within the OR to improve patient safety and surgical outcomes.
Copyright
Copyright © 2025 Noor Ul Ain. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
