A Profile of Novice and Senior Nurses’ Communication Patterns during the Transition to Practice Period: An Application of the Roter Interaction Analysis System

Novice nurses’ successful transition to practice is impacted by their interactions with senior nurses. Ensuring that novice nurses are adequately supported during their transition to practice has wide-ranging and significant implications. The aim of this study is to explore the communication patterns between novice and senior nurses by applying an interaction analysis technique. Trimonthly onboarding evaluations between novice and senior nurses were recorded. The Roter Interaction Analysis System was adapted and deployed to identify communication patterns. In total, twenty-two interactions were analyzed. Senior nurses spoke more (64.5%). Task-focused exchange was predominant amongst senior (79.7%) and novice (59.5%) nurses. Senior nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters of information-giving (45%) and advice or instructions (17.2%), while emotional expression (1.4%) and social talk (0.4%) were rare. Novice nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters-information giving (57%) and positive talk (39.5%). The communication patterns between senior and novice nurses during the onboarding period indicate aspects of novice nurse transition that could be addressed, such as encouraging novice nurses to use these interactions to communicate more, or emphasizing the importance of social talk. These insights can be used to inform mentorship and preceptorship training to ensure that senior nurses are able to adequately support novice nurses through all parts of the transition to practice period.

Educare : interactions soignantes à domicile. Un outil d’observation pour évaluer la centration sur la personne

Contexte : Cet article s’inscrit dans une étude longitudinale contrôlée à travers laquelle nous avons émis l’hypothèse selon laquelle une éducation thérapeutique centrée sur la personne donnait plus de satisfaction aux professionnels de la santé qu’une éducation thérapeutique biomédicale centrée sur la maladie ou le traitement. Pour tester l’hypothèse, nous avions besoin d’un outil d’observation des interactions soignantes à domicile. Objectifs : Construire et valider un nouvel outil d’observation des interactions soignantes à domicile. Méthodes : Nous nous sommes inspirés du Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) initié par Debra Roter, pour élaborer cet outil dont nous avons ensuite testé la fidélité à travers l’analyse de sa concordance interne. Résultats : Nous avons observé 25 soignants, 72 patients et 223 soins. La fidélité varie entre un α de Cronbach de 0,23 à 0,81 en fonction des dimensions analysées, avec une moyenne de 0,58. L’analyse de la régression entre les réactions des clients et les interventions des soignants corrobore une certaine validité de construit. Discussion : Bien que partiellement fidèle, cet outil nous semble un instrument pertinent pour analyser les interactions des soignants centrés sur la personne dans le cadre des soins à domicile. Son contenu doit encore être amélioré afin d’augmenter sa fidélité. Conclusion : Cet outil contribue à la mise en évidence d’interactions soignantes réellement centrées sur la personne à domicile tout en identifiant les méthodes et les éléments qui les favorisent.

Relationships of trainee dentists’ empathy and communication characteristics with simulated patients’ assessment in medical interviews

ObjectivesWe aimed to clarify the characteristics of communication between trainee dentists and simulated patients (SPs) and to examine how the level of trainee dentists’ self-reported empathy influences assessment by SPs in medical interviews.Materials and methodsThe study involved 100 trainee dentists at Okayama University Hospital and eight SPs. The trainee dentists conducted initial interviews with the SPs after completing the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Their interviews were recorded and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System. The SPs assessed the trainees’ communication immediately after each interview. The trainee dentists were classified into two groups (more positive and less positive groups) according to SP assessment scores.ResultsCompared with the less positive trainees, the more positive trainees scored higher on the [Emotional expression] and lower on the [Medical data gathering] Roter Interaction Analysis System categories. There was no difference in [Dental data gathering] between the two groups. The SPs of more positive trainees had higher rates of [Positive talk] and [Emotional expression] and lower rates of [Medical information giving] and [Dental information giving]. The trainees with more positive ratings from SPs had significantly higher Jefferson Scale of Empathy total scores.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that responding to the SPs’ emotions is a relevant characteristic of dentist–SP communication to SPs’ positive assessment in medical interviews. Further, trainees’ self-reported empathy was related with the SPs’ assessment of trainees’ communication, which indicated that patient satisfaction can be improved by increasing the dentist’s empathy. Thus, an empathic attitude among dentists is a significant determinant of patient satisfaction.

Action cameras and the Roter interaction analysis system to assess veterinarian-producer interactions in a dairy setting

Herd health and production management (HH&PM) are critical aspects of production animal veterinary practice; therefore, dairy veterinarians need to effectively deliver these services. However, limited research that can inform veterinary education has been conducted to characterise these farm visits. The aim of the present study was to assess the applicability of action cameras (eg, GoPro cameras) worn by veterinarians to provide on-farm recordings, and the suitability of these recordings for comprehensive communication analyses. Seven veterinarians each recorded three dairy HH&PM visits. Recordings were analysed using the Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS), which has been used to evaluate medical conversations in human and companion animal contexts, and provided insights regarding the importance of effective clinical communication. However, the RIAS has never been used in a production animal environment. Results of this pilot study indicate that on-farm recordings were suitable for RIAS coding. Dairy practitioners use a substantial amount of talk allocated to relationship-building and farmer education but that communication patterns of the same veterinarian vary considerably between farm visits. Consecutive studies using this method will provide observational data for research purposes and promise to aid in the improvement of veterinary education through identification of communication priorities and gaps in dairy advisory discussions.

The Roter Interaction Analysis System

This chapter provides an introduction to the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and reviews a selected body of studies that have used the system to describe cancer communication processes in a variety of cancer and palliative care contexts. It addresses a broad array of research questions relevant to the delivery of high-quality patient care, while providing a broad overview of the characteristics of the RIAS. Its contribution to the field of cancer communication is illustrated in this chapter by reviewing a selected body of cancer and palliative care studies that have used the RIAS as their primary communication assessment tool.

Communication between health professionals and patients: review of studies using the RIAS (Roter Interaction Analysis System) method

Objective: Systematic review of studies that investigate the communication between patients and health professionals with the application of the RIAS methodology. Methods: Keyword Roter Interaction Analysis System was searched in the following bibliographic resources: Academic Search Complete, Current Contents, ISI Proceedings, PubMed, Elsevier, SpringerLink, Web of Science, RCAAP, Solo and the official RIAS site. Selection period: 2006 to 2011. Studies were selected using multicriteria dichotomous analysis and organized according to PRISMA. Results: Identification of 1,262 articles (455 unrepeated). 34 articles were selected for analysis, distributed by the following health professions: family medicine and general practitioners (14), pediatricians (5), nurses (4), geneticists (3), carers of patients with AIDS (2), oncologists (2), surgeons (2), anesthetists (1) and family planning specialists (1). The RIAS is scarcely used and publicized within the scope of healthcare in Portuguese speaking countries. Discussion: Main themes studied include the influence of tiredness, anxiety and professional burnout on communication and the impact of specific training actions on professional activities. The review enabled the identification of the main strengths and weaknesses of synchronous and dyadic verbal communication within the provision of healthcare. Conclusion: Scientific investigation of the communication between health professionals and patients using RIAS has produced concrete results. An improvement is expected in health outcomes through the application of the RIAS.