Abstract
Purpose:
Effective communication is one of the key factors to successful surgery. Robot-assisted surgery differs in many terms of communication to open surgery. Dislocation of console and bed-side surgeon, distance to the operating room (OR) field, and missing visual control of outside-the-patient actions are the most obvious differences. Precise communication, sharpening communication skills, and avoiding communication failures are viable factors for patients safety.
Materials and Methods:
Demonstration of communication errors sharpens the awareness for typical pitfalls. Exemplary situation with effective communication and suggestions for solution of communication problems should lead to an improvement of team play and exchange of information. Important strategies, adopted from fields of typical nonverbal professions such as air traffic control or radio communication, underline the necessity of consequent risk management solutions.
Results:
Effective communication is one of the human factors in the OR, an interdisciplinary environment with highly qualified personnel under cost and time pressure, as an OR is the most cost-intensive working place in a hospital with most coordination effort. 1,2 Most communications fail in terms of occasion, content, purpose, or audience. 3,4 Communication in robot-assisted procedures is characterized by missing nonverbal communication. Effective communication in robot-assisted procedures can be achieved by using defined sequences of sentences in similar situations (phraseology), the use of a “report and report-back” feedback system, reduction of communication burden, practiced crew resource management, and the definition of call-out strategies in terms of emergencies, leading to conversion to open surgery. Improving communication in robot-assisted procedures is internalized risk management. 5,6
Discussion:
Several human factor-related communication skills can easily be improved by structuring communication and the loss of communication burden. Feedback is one of the most important communication features. Using phraseology and call-out strategies leads to effective communication even in difficult situation and environments.
No competing financial interests exist.
Runtime of video: 8 mins 38 secs
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