Physician-Nurse communication. Perceptions of Physicians in Riyadh

Objectives: The need for communication between nurse and physician in clinical p is undisputed. The objectives of this study were to describe doctors' perceptions of communication with nurses, as related to the openness of the communication and accuracy of the information communicated and to examine if specific sociodemograph characteristics concerning physicians were associated with perception of communication. Methods: The sample consisted of 200 physicians selected randomly from 6 random selected hospitals representing both general and private. A modified Shortell's In Care Unit physician-nurse communication subscale was used to measure the physician' perceptions of the degree to which openness and accuracy described their commun with nurses. Data was collected via a self-administered pilot questionnaire, which al included sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The overall mean score for openness was 2.61 and 3.19 for accuracy out of a maximum score of 5. For openness the highest mean score was obtained for "listening to physician (4.31)" and the lowest mean score was obtained for "hospital environment (1.84)". For accuracy, the highest mean score was obtained for "use of medical language (4.37)" and the lowest mean score was for "feedback (1.84)". The results showed a significant difference for experience, age and gender for both types of hospitals. For speCialization, title and nationality no significant difference was observed for both types of hospitals for openness and accuracy. Multivariate regression analysis showed that gender, age and experience were the predictor variables for openness and accuracy. With more experienced, older aged females, having the highest mean score. Conclusions: Communication between physician and nurses needs not remain only a researchable issue; its viability and vitality are crucial to the changing health care scene. Thus, the development of health delivery models that will enable effective multidisciplinary communication, cooperation and wiser use of limited resources in health care is essential