Intergroup Communication between Medical Professionals: Application of Theory to an Adverse Event

• In Event: Implications of Intergroup Communication on Health and Well-Being

Abstract

Hospitals are naturally hierarchical institutions with clear status differentials (Watson, Hewett & Gallois, 2012). The inherent nature of hospitals and other large medical organisations is that they are comprised of health professionals from different specialty, professional and cultural backgrounds (Watson et. al.). Such highly differentiated social systems make collaboration and communication between professionals challenging and precarious (Leonard, Graham & Bonacum, 2004) and resultant communication failures can contribute to the death or serious injury of patients (Sutcliffe, Lewton & Rosenthal, 2004). This paper examines one such adverse event and invokes social identity theory (SIT) and communication accommodation theory (CAT), to explain the communication dynamics between treating medical professionals.

Authors

• Carly Jacobitz, U of Queensland

• Bernadette M Watson, U of Queensland

• Fiona Hawthorne, Queensland Health