Can you hear me?' Barriers to and facilitators of communication in the presence of noise in the operating room

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Volume 34       Issue 3                                                                                     Article 2

7-30-2021

'Can you hear me?' Barriers to and facilitators of communication
in the presence of noise in the operating room
Louise C. Grant Mrs
PhD Candidate, Melbourne School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of
Melbourne, Parkville, Australia., louiseg1@student.unimelb.edu.au

Pat F. Nicholson Associate Professor
Associate Professor of Nursing, Higher Degrees Research Coordinator, Course Director, Masters of
Nursing Practice (Perioperative), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University,
Burwood, Australia. Honorary Senior Fellow School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Parkville, Australia, p.nicholson@deakin.edu.au

Bronwyn Davidson Associate Professor
Honorary Principal Fellow, Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, The University of Melbourne,
Parkville, Australia., bronwynd@unimelb.edu.au

Follow thisManias
Elizabeth            Professor
             and additional works at: https://www.journal.acorn.org.au/jpn
Associate Head of School (Research), Faculty of Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for
    Part of the Perioperative, Operating Room and Surgical Nursing Commons
Quality and Patient Safety Research, Institute for Health Transformation Deakin University, Burwood,
Australia. Honorary Professor School of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, The University of
Melbourne Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne Parkville,
This work
Australia    is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
          , emanias@deakin.edu.au

Recommended Citation
Grant, Louise C. Mrs; Nicholson, Pat F. Associate Professor; Davidson, Bronwyn Associate Professor; and
Manias, Elizabeth Professor (2021) "'Can you hear me?' Barriers to and facilitators of communication in
the presence of noise in the operating room," Journal of Perioperative Nursing: Vol. 34 : Iss. 3 , Article 2.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.26550/2209-1092.1132

https://www.journal.acorn.org.au/jpn/vol34/iss3/2

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Journal of Perioperative Nursing. It has been accepted
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'Can you hear me?' Barriers to and facilitators of communication in the presence
of noise in the operating room

Cover Page Footnote
Funding of this research was supported by a research grant from the Australian College of Perioperative
Nurses (ACORN). The author would like to thank the health professionals working at the research site and
ACORN for their support of this research. The author would also like to acknowledge the support of this
research through the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

      This article is available in Journal of Perioperative Nursing: https://www.journal.acorn.org.au/jpn/vol34/iss3/2
Peer-reviewed article

                                                 ‘Can you hear me?’
       Authors
   Louise Grant

                                                  Barriers to and facilitators of
   MClinSci (Periop), RN, MACORN, MACN
   PhD Candidate, Melbourne School of
   Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences,
   The University of Melbourne, Parkville,
   Australia
                                                  communication in the presence
   Associate Professor Patricia Nicholson
   PhD, RN, FACORN
                                                  of noise in the operating room
   Associate Professor of Nursing, Higher
   Degrees Research Coordinator, Course
   Director, Masters of Nursing Practice
                                                  Abstract
   (Perioperative), School of Nursing and
   Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin           Aim
   University, Burwood, Australia. Honorary
                                                 The aim of this study was to explore health professionals’ perceptions of the
   Senior Fellow School of Health Sciences,
   The University of Melbourne Parkville,        impact of noise on communication in the operating room.
   Australia
                                                  Sample and setting
   Associate Professor Bronwyn Davidson
   B Sp Thy, PhD, FSPA                            Health professionals working in the operating room at a tertiary, affiliated,
   Honorary Principal Fellow, Department          major referral hospital in northern Australia were recruited using purposive
   of Audiology and Speech Pathology,
                                                  sampling.
   The University of Melbourne, Parkville,
   Australia
                                                  Method
   Professor Elizabeth Manias
   M Nurs Stud, M Pharm, PhD, FAAN                Semi-structured interviews were undertaken using an exploratory qualitative
   Associate Head of School (Research),           design to explore health professionals’ perceptions of communication and the
   Faculty of Health, School of Nursing           impact of noise in the operating room. Interviews were transcribed verbatim
   and Midwifery, Centre for Quality and
                                                  and analysed using thematic analysis.
   Patient Safety Research, Institute for
   Health Transformation Deakin University,
   Burwood, Australia. Honorary Professor         Results
   School of Health Sciences, Department
                                                  In all, 26 health professionals participated, including anaesthetists, surgeons,
   of Nursing, The University of Melbourne
   Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne        nurses and theatre technicians. Two themes were analysed from the
   Hospital, The University of Melbourne          data: barriers to communication and facilitators of communication in the
   Parkville, Australia                           operating room. Barriers to communication focused on difficulties that health
                                                  professionals experienced when attempting to communicate in the presence
       Corresponding author                       of noise – difficulty hearing in noisy operating rooms, positioning of health
   Louise Grant                                   professionals, and inability to filter out sounds. Facilitators of communication
   MClinSci (Periop), RN, MACORN, MACN            consisted of health professionals’ adaption to the presence of noise during
   PhD Candidate, Melbourne School of             communication – non-verbal communication, such as gestures, and the ability
   Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences,
                                                  to filter out unwanted sounds.
   The University of Melbourne, Parkville,
   Australia
   louiseg1@student.unimelb.edu.au                Conclusion
                                                  Health professionals of all levels of experience encounter communication
                                                  difficulties. With increased experience, health professionals are able to filter
                                                  out unwanted sounds provided the OR is not too noisy. Consideration needs
                                                  to be given to the use of space and positioning of noise emitting equipment
                                                  to optimise communication in the OR. Furthermore, communication can be
                                                  facilitated by the judicious use of non-verbal communication.
                                                  Keywords: operating room, communication, noise, communication barriers,
                                                  interdisciplinary communication, health communication

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Background                                 typical OR noises including quiet,        by the surgeons and other team
                                           filtered noise and background OR          members who participated in the
The operating room (OR) is busy, with      noise13. In another study, that used a    study24.
activities such as opening paper           cross-sectional design to survey the
packets and handling instruments                                                     Past research into communication in
                                           effects of noise on work practices
and equipment, and noisy with                                                        the OR has used surveys focussing
                                           in the OR, surgeons expressed that
phones ringing, alarms sounding,                                                     on communication between OR
                                           they found noise distracting during
music being played and devices                                                       health professionals, quality of
                                           OR activities such as completing
emitting noise1–6. Such noise-emitting                                               communication during laparoscopic
                                           the surgical safety checklist14. Two
devices may include suction, forced                                                  surgery, communication and
                                           cross-sectional studies surveying
air patient warmers, high volume                                                     teamwork, and the impact of noise
                                           anaesthetists found that good
suction units and the anaesthetic                                                    on OR health professionals’ work
                                           communication among health
machine which may sound alarms.                                                      practices14–17,25. In studies where
                                           professionals was an important
Health professionals in the OR                                                       qualitative designs were used, the
                                           factor in delivering patient care15,
include anaesthetists, surgeons,                                                     focus was on team communication23,
                                           and poor communication resulted
nurses and theatre technicians. When                                                 the impact of tension on
                                           in surgical or procedural delay16. In
trying to communicate effectively,                                                   communication26, interdisciplinary
                                           another cross-sectional study, OR
these health professionals must                                                      communication dynamics24 and
                                           health professionals were surveyed
compete with the noise generated by                                                  communication behaviours for
                                           on teamwork and communication,
devices and activities. When surveyed                                                effective workplace practice27. There
                                           with nurses explaining that a
about noise and communication,                                                       has been little previous work on
                                           hierarchy within the health care
health professionals acknowledged                                                    how noise impacts communication.
                                           team led to reluctance to raise
that the OR was a noisy environment                                                  Health professionals’ perceptions
                                           concerns about patient safety issues17.
which impacted negatively on their                                                   and experiences of communicating
                                           Past research into communication
ability to deliver patient care7.                                                    in the presence of noise needs to be
                                           failure in the OR found the failure
                                                                                     further explored to enable a deeper
There are three main sources of            rate ranged from nine percent18 to
                                                                                     understanding of communication and
noise in the OR – conversations,           57 per cent19 of all communication
                                                                                     the influence of noise in the OR.
equipment and music. These result          events, depending on the type of
                                           procedure, surgical specialty and the
in average sound pressure levels
                                           phases of the surgical procedures
                                                                                     Aim
ranging from 55 to 70 decibels (A
weighted) (dB(A))8,9. The average          observed. Communication between           The aim of this study was to explore
sound pressure levels for various          OR health professionals is an             operating room health professionals’
types of conversation are 45 to 55         essential component of delivering         perceptions of the impact of noise
dB(A) for quiet conversations9, 60         patient care, with communication          on communication in the operating
dB(A) for normal conversations10 and       failure negatively impacting patient      room.
61 to 70 dB(A) reported for speaking       safety20.
with raised voices11,12. Therefore, with   Communication failure is a
                                                                                     Sample and setting
the diverse range of average sound         common cause of adverse events            The research was undertaken
levels in the OR, health professionals     that originate in the OR with             at a tertiary university-affiliated
would be required to raise their voice     consequences including surgical           hospital, which services a large
in order to be heard.                      count errors leading to retained          rural and remote area of Northern
Past research has found that               surgical products, patient harm or        Australia. Participants were 205
health professionals, whether they         death; wrong site or side surgery,        health professionals employed in the
were undertaking a task or not,            and wrong implant inserted21,22.          operating suite, including surgeons,
experienced diminished ability             A qualitative study identified            surgical trainees, anaesthetists,
to communicate effectively with            communication failure, with               anaesthetic trainees, perioperative
the sound levels commonly in the           information not being communicated,       nurses and theatre technicians.
OR13. In their research, Way et al.13      to be a result of hesitancy and
                                                                                     Information about the research was
assessed the surgeon’s ability to          reservation23. In a grounded theory
                                                                                     presented to health professionals
understand and repeat words, with          study using semi-structured
                                                                                     during weekly meetings and followed
and without undertaking a task, with       interviews, communication failure
                                                                                     up by email and with information
and without music playing, and with        was interpreted as a lack of respect
                                                                                     notices placed at various sites in the

Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Spring 2021 acorn.org.au                                                  e-27
operating suite. Further information       Table 1: Topic guide for                  Results
       was given to those who expressed           interviews
       an interest in participating, and a                                                  In all, 26 interviews were undertaken
       mutually agreeable interview time                                                    ranging from 17 to 65 minutes with
                                                    Topic wording                           an average length of 29 minutes.
       was organised. Interviews were
       conducted in a quiet room within                                                     Ten participants were women, and
                                                    1. How do you think noise
       or adjacent to the operating suite.                                                  16 were men. The anaesthetists
                                                       impacts communication in the
       Purposive sampling was used to                                                       included seven consultants and one
                                                       OR?
       recruit participants from each                                                       trainee. Of the nurses interviewed,
       health professional group to ensure          2. What do you think influences         two were anaesthetic nurses,
       representation from each group                  communication in the OR?             four were instrument–circulating
       and a wide range of ages, years of                                                   nurses and two were anaesthetic–
       experience and number of years               3. Tell me about any problems           instrument–circulating nurses. The
       working at the research site28.                 you have had communicating           surgeons comprised five consultants
                                                       in the OR. Can you describe          and three trainees from a range of
       Inclusion criteria for participating                                                 surgical specialties – ear, nose and
                                                       a situation where this has
       health professionals were a                                                          throat (n = 2), general surgery (n =
                                                       occurred?
       minimum of two weeks worked and                                                      3), neurosurgery (n = 1), ophthalmic
       at least one day per week working in                                                 surgery (n = 1), and orthopaedic
       the operating rooms at the research        The thematic analysis process             surgery (n = 1). Four participants
       site. Exclusion criteria were working      consisted of five stages – becoming       spoke a language other than English
       only in the preoperative or post-          familiar with the data in the             at home (Table 2).
       operative care of patients.                transcripts, conceptualising the
                                                                                            Two major themes emerged
                                                  themes, applying the themes to the
       Methods                                    data, rearranging the data into the
                                                                                            from data analysis – ‘barriers to
                                                                                            communication in the presence
   This research used an exploratory              themes and mapping the themes31.
                                                                                            of noise’ and ‘facilitators of
   qualitative methodology with                   NVivo for Mac (version 11.4.3,
                                                                                            communication in the presence of
   semi-structured interviews to                  Melbourne) was used to manage the
                                                                                            noise’.
   investigate how health professionals           data during the final two stages of
                                                  the analysis process.
   perceived the impact of noise on                                                         Barriers to communication in
   communication in the operating                  Rigour during the recruitment and        the presence of noise
   room29. The research was granted                data analysis phase was maintained
   ethical approval from the research              by the selection of participants,        The theme ‘barriers to
   site ethics committee ((2017.2801) and          the use of a reflective journal and      communication in the presence
   the university (1749562).                       collaborative discussion during the      of noise’ consisted of three sub-
                                                   analysis process. During the data        themes – ‘hearing difficulties in
   The interviews were undertaken by                                                        noisy ORs’, ‘positioning of health
   the first author using a topic guide            collection, the first author kept a
                                                   journal to record reflections after      professionals’ and ‘being unable to
   (Table 1) derived from past research7,27                                                 filter out sounds’.
   and guided by the first author’s                each interview. The reflective journal
                                                   was also used to prepare for the
   clinical experience as a perioperative                                                   Hearing difficulties in noisy
   nurse working at the research                   interview to ensure no preconceived
                                                                                            operating rooms
   site19,30. The first author underwent           ideas were included in the data
   training, and the other authors had             collected23. During the analysis         Participants expressed that their
   experience in undertaking qualitative           process, the data coded into each        attitudes to noise changed as they
   interviews with content expertise in            theme were regularly reviewed            grew older. A surgeon reported
   perioperative nursing, patient safety           to ensure the definition of each         that younger health professionals
   and interprofessional communication.            theme was consistent throughout          were still able to communicate in
   Semi-structured interviews were                 the analysis process32. Each theme       the presence of noise. However, he
   audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim            was discussed collaboratively with       reported becoming less tolerant
   and analysed by all authors using               all authors to ensure consistency        of noise in the OR as he aged. The
   thematic analysis31, enabling themes            throughout the coding process26,33.      surgeon described:
   to be explored and interpreted.

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Table 2: Characteristics of participants (N = 26)                                 to speak in a raised voice over the
                                                                                  noise emitted by the equipment. The
 Demograhics                                                            n         surgeon reported:

                            Anaesthetists and trainees                  8          … in [a small operating room], the
                                                                                    scrub nurse has to be confined
                            Surgeons and trainees                       8           to a corner because of the
 Occupation                                                                         arrangements of the [equipment] …
                            Nurses                                      8           So, I find perhaps the nurse has
                                                                                    to talk more often or speak more
                            Theatre technicians                         2
                                                                                    loudly to reach the nurse on the
                                                                                    other end. But in [a large operating
                            Less than 1 year                            1
                                                                                    room] … there is more space to
                            1–5 years                                   3           move around so you can quietly
                                                                                    ask the nurse whatever you need.
 Number of years
                            6–10 years                                  14          (SC1)
 working in OR
                            11–15 years                                 3         An instrument–circulating nurse
                                                                                  commented that positioning
                            More than 16 years                          5         equipment, such as the suction
                                                                                  and electrosurgical units, near the
                            Less than 1 year                            5         foot end of the OR table negatively
                                                                                  impacted effective communication.
                            1–5 years                                   14
                                                                                  Instrument–circulating nurses
 Number of years at                                                               positioned near the equipment were
                            6–10 years                                  3
 research site                                                                    required to raise their voice in order
                            11–15 years                                 3         to be heard. This was a concern
                                                                                  raised by the nurses when required
                            More than 16 years                          1         to complete the surgical count.
                                                                                  An anaesthetic nurse recounted a
                                                                                  situation affected by the position
  I think younger people … in             Positioning of health                   of the suction and electrosurgical
  the operating [room] tolerate           professionals                           units in the OR. In this situation, a
  noise and seem to manage with                                                   circulating nurse was experiencing
  communication. Certainly, my            The layout of equipment in an OR
                                          varied according to the room’s size     difficulties understanding what the
  experience has been that I was                                                  instrument nurse was asking. The
  more tolerant of noise in the           and physical layout and position of
                                          items such as gas supply outlets and    anaesthetic nurse was situated on
  operating [room] when I was                                                     the opposite side of the OR and
  younger. (SC4)                          power points. How the space in the
                                          OR was used when positioning the        could clearly hear the circulating
An anaesthetist, aged between 26          equipment influenced where health       nurse asking the instrument nurse to
and 35 years, described that he was       professionals were able to stand and    repeat the request. The anaesthetic
becoming more frustrated conversing       move around during surgery, and         nurse described:
in a noisy OR as he grew older.           thus had impact on their ability to       I have noticed that if I’m over the
Another surgeon also attributed his       communicate.                              other side [of the OR] to where the
communication difficulties in noisy                                                 [instrument] trolley tends to be …
                                          A surgeon observed that he was
ORs to hearing loss caused by aging.                                                They may be going back and forth
                                          required to use the same speciality
This surgeon commented that he was                                                  with a ‘May I have this?’ … ‘What are
                                          equipment irrespective of the size of
unaware of noisy ORs when he was                                                    you saying?’ … I can hear perfectly
                                          the OR. This resulted in less space
a trainee; however, as a consultant                                                 well what that [instrument nurse]
                                          for health professionals to navigate
this situation had changed and he                                                   is saying, … and I will venture over
                                          and approach a person to converse
experienced difficulties while trying                                               and say this is what they want.
                                          quietly when operating in a small OR.
to communicate.                                                                     (NAIC2)
                                          Instead, a health professional had

Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Spring 2021 acorn.org.au                                                e-29
Being unable to filter out               Facilitators of                              knowing the operation and getting
       sounds                                   communication in the                         to know each other. (SC7)

   The ability to clearly comprehend            presence of noise                          The use of non-verbal gestures to
   conversations required health                 The theme ‘facilitators of                communicate was described by
   professionals to filter out some of                                                     an anaesthetic consultant when
                                                 communication in the presence of
   the sounds in the OR, allowing them                                                     the OR was noisy. The consultant
                                                 noise’ consisted of two sub-themes –
   to focus on conversations that were                                                     used gestures such as stern facial
                                                ‘using non-verbal communication in
   necessary at the time. However,                                                         expressions or holding his finger up
                                                 the presence of noise’ and ‘being
   health professionals reported that                                                      to pursed lips to request for silence
                                                 able to filter out sounds in the
   when the OR was noisy, they were                                                        in the OR. Moreover, an anaesthetic
                                                 presence of noise’.
   unable to filter out these sounds.                                                      trainee recalled the response she
                                                Using non-verbal communication             received when she stood up suddenly
   An inexperienced instrument–                                                            in the OR with a stern look on her
   circulating nurse, with limited              in the presence of noise
                                                                                           face and projected her voice to get
   working experience in the OR,                Non-verbal communication was               the attention of the other health
   became overburdened when                     described as an effective form             professionals in the OR. The use of
   attempting to listen to all                  of communication when the OR               non-verbal gestures enabled her
   conversations occurring around her.          was noisy. Participants recalled           to gain their attention during the
   The nurse recalled:                          using non-verbal gestures, either          emergency. The trainee recounted:
                                                independently or in conjunction
        At the moment I’m trying to                                                          I have to admit being six foot … I
                                                with verbal communication, and
        listen to everybody. … You have                                                      just tend to have to stand up. …
                                                specifically using their hands, eyes, or
        the anaesthetists talking to their                                                   it’s your non-verbal stuff. If you
                                                facial expressions to communicate.
        students. … You have the surgeon                                                     actually are a six-foot-tall female,
        speaking to the other nurse and all     A surgeon recounted being able to            stand up and make eye contact
        the other different noises and bits     use non-verbal hand gestures to              with the theatre and project your
        and pieces. … at the moment I’m         facilitate effective communication           voice so that everyone just goes
        just taking it all in …, it becomes a   when requesting a surgical                   [clicks fingers] boom. … with the I’m
        little bit overwhelming. (NIC1)         instrument during a surgical                 not joking tone … and it works quite
                                                procedure. He stated that during a           well …. I’m usually laid back, all of a
       When the OR was noisy, a theatre         procedure he tended to mumble;               sudden, you’re – you’re a presence
       technician was unable to concentrate     therefore, in a noisy OR he preferred        in the theatre. (AT8)
       on requests made by other members        to use non-verbal communication.
       of the team. The technician forgot       However, the surgeon qualified the
                                                                                           Being able to filter out sounds
       the task he was asked to complete        use of non-verbal hand gestures
                                                                                           in the presence of noise
       due to the volume of noise that          for communication by adding that
       was occurring at the time. This          this style of communication would          Another facilitator of effective
       forgetfulness resulted in repeated       depend on the level of experience          communication in the presence
       communication and hindered his           of the instrument nurse, whether           of noise was being able to filter
       ability to complete the task in a        the instrument nurse was attentive         out sounds in the OR. Participants
       timely manner. Similarly, a surgical     during the surgical procedure and          reported that filtering out sounds
       trainee described his experiences        how often they had worked together.        such as concurrent conversations
       of attempting to concentrate during      The surgeon reported:                      and equipment, including suction or
       complex surgery. He related that if                                                 electrosurgical units, enabled them
                                                  I think if it is a good [instrument]     to focus their attention on the tasks
       the OR was noisy, he experienced
                                                  nurse and I put out my hand,             at hand and essential conversations.
       difficulties filtering out some of
                                                  they know what’s going on in the
       the sounds which would allow                                                        An anaesthetic consultant described
                                                  operation, they know what I need,
       him to concentrate on the surgical                                                  filtering out some sounds during the
                                                  so it is really nice not to ask and
       procedure.                                                                          induction of anaesthesia phase while
                                                  sometimes when it is loud you rely
                                                  on that more. I have a tendency to       she observed an anaesthetic trainee
                                                  mumble as well. … So that comes          induce the patient. The consultant
                                                  with working together for a while,       explained that she did not listen to
                                                                                           sounds unrelated to the anaesthetic

e-30                                        Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Spring 2021 acorn.org.au
phase of the procedure, such as            presence of experienced OR health        occupational noise-induced hearing
the call bell, which enabled her to        professionals.                           loss to occur3,35. However, a study
communicate effectively with the                                                    undertaking audiometry testing of 22
                                           The arrangement of equipment in
trainee. The anaesthetist recalled:                                                 senior orthopaedic surgeons, found
                                           the OR was dictated by the type of
                                                                                    11 of them had some degree of noise-
  I will watch the [anaesthetic            surgery, door position, power and
                                                                                    induced hearing loss but not of a
  trainee] do a whole induction …          services outlets, and anaesthetist
                                                                                    degree to be classified as deafness38.
  without noticing the [call bell]         and surgeon’s preferences. Surgical
                                                                                    Another study undertook audiometry
  going off. You are tuned into            specialties need an OR of an
                                                                                    testing of 18 health professionals,
  different things … We all ignore         appropriate size for the equipment
                                                                                    from a range of ages and types, who
  certain noises that don’t bother us      required and number of health
                                                                                    worked in orthopaedic surgery39.
  and are tuned to noises that do.         professionals involved in the surgery.
                                                                                    This study found the exposure
  (AC5)                                    If the equipment used for the surgery
                                                                                    was insufficient to pose a danger
                                           resulted in lack of space in the OR,
A surgical trainee recalled                                                         to hearing, and no noise-induced
                                           then the circulating nurse may not
disregarding some sounds unrelated                                                  hearing loss was present in any
                                           be able to stand near the instrument
to his role during the surgical                                                     of the participants. Moreover, the
                                           nurse to communicate quietly.
procedure, such as the oxygen                                                       studies investigating hearing loss in
                                           Instead, the conversations occur with
saturation alert tone. By not listening                                             oral faciomaxillary and urological
                                           raised voices across the obstructing
to the unrelated sounds, he was able                                                surgeons found they were not
                                           equipment. The noise emitted by
to concentrate on the procedure and                                                 exposed to noise levels shown to
                                           some equipment has been identified
communicate effectively with the                                                    result in hearing loss36,37.
                                           in past research14 as contributing
surgeon and instrument nurse.              to communication failure. Past           Rather than experiencing a
                                           research found failure to meet           hearing loss, health professionals
Discussion                                 surgeons’ expectations of positioning    may become less tolerant of the
This research explored how noise           and choice of equipment resulted         noise levels in the OR, especially
affected communication between             in breakdown of communication            considering the complex cognitive
health professionals in the operating      between the surgeon and other            tasks that they undertake. Past
room. Health professionals struggled       health professionals24. However,         research showed that health
to communicate effectively when the        in a study of how perioperative          professionals experienced
OR was noisy, revealing barriers to        nurses’ practice was governed,           diminished ability to communicate
effective communication including          nurses became more familiar with         with the noise levels present in
positioning of health professionals,       the surgeons’ requirements for           the OR, regardless of whether they
hearing difficulties in noisy ORs, and     each type of procedure as they           were undertaking an activity or
being unable to filter out sounds.         gained experience working with           not13. Furthermore, communication
Due to the presence of noise, health       them. Through this knowledge, the        was more likely to breakdown if a
professionals used facilitators of         perioperative nurses were able to        health professional was undertaking
communication including non-verbal         try different arrangements of the        complex cognitive tasks, such as
gestures and filtering out some            equipment to overcome the barriers       those undertaken in the OR, while
conversations and noise emitted by         to effective communication posed by      communicating in the presence of
equipment. However, restrictions           the equipment34.                         noise13.
existed for when it was possible to        Health professionals reported            For health professionals to be able
use these facilitators. Non-verbal         experiencing difficulties hearing        to use non-verbal gestures as an
gestures were an effective means           conversations when the OR was            effective means of communication
of communication when recipients           noisy; however, this may not             in noisy ORs, their colleagues
understood the meaning of the              necessarily be due to any hearing        needed to be aware of the meanings
gestures and the context in which          deficit. Past research on hearing        of the gestures as well as the
they were being used. Filtering out        difficulties among orthopaedic,          context in which they are used. If
irrelevant conversations was also an       urological and oral faciomaxillary       the instrument nurse can see the
effective facilitator of communication     surgeons3,35–37 found mixed results.     surgical field and is familiar with the
when the noise levels were not             Orthopaedic surgeons were exposed        surgery, then hand gestures used
elevated or if filtering occurred in the   to noise levels over the threshold       by the surgeon may be an effective
                                           level and exposure time required for     means of communication. In an

Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Spring 2021 acorn.org.au                                                  e-31
observational study of the transfer      include multiple sites to expand            by the judicious use of non-verbal
       of objects between the instrument        these findings and provide further          communication.
       nurse and the surgeon during             insight into the barriers to and
       surgical procedures40, the use of non-   facilitators of communication in the        Acknowledgements
       verbal gestures by the surgeon was       presence of noise in the OR.
                                                                                            Funding of this research was
       an effective means of communication
                                                                                            supported by a research grant
       when they could be observed by the       Implications for practice                   from the Australian College of
       instrument nurse. This finding was
                                                A number of implications for practice       Perioperative Nurses (ACORN). The
       confirmed by another study that
                                                have been derived from this research,       author would like to thank the health
       found the recipient of the gestures
                                                relating to positioning of equipment        professionals working at the research
       needed to be able to see them
                                                in the OR, the use of non-verbal            site and ACORN for their support of
       as they occurred41. Despite these
                                                gestures, and consideration of              this research. The author would also
       restrictions, participants recounted
                                                inexperienced health professionals          like to acknowledge the support of
       situations where the use of non-
                                                and their inability to filter the sounds.   this research through the Australian
       verbal gestures were an effective
                                                The positioning of equipment in the         Government Research Training
       method of communication without
                                                OR is influenced by many factors            Program Scholarship.
       contributing to the sound levels in a
                                                and impacts the team of health
       noisy OR.
                                                professionals. Surgical procedures          References
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Journal of Perioperative Nursing Volume 34 Number 2 Spring 2021 acorn.org.au                                                                                     e-33
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