IMPROVING COMMUNICATION IN THE NICU: PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RESIDENT PHYSICIANS

Abstract BACKGROUND Residents play a pivotal role in patient care. Past research has demonstrated a lack of understanding of the roles of medical learners. It is therefore pertinent to assess patients and families’ views of the roles of residents, and how patient-resident interactions can alter their understanding. Furthermore, since patients are the ultimate stakeholders in the health care system, our goal should be to encourage their much deserved voice in the way we practice medicine, particularly in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) which is a challenging environment for families and learners. OBJECTIVES Our primary objective was to to better characterize parental knowledge and perception of resident’s roles. We also determined how medical learners can best identify themselves to family. Moreover, we explored the role of residents as effective communicators with parents. We also assessed parental satisfaction regarding their interactions with residents. DESIGN/METHODS Parents whose children were admitted to the NICU at our hospital for at least 24 hours were asked to complete a self-administered survey. Our cross-sectional survey, administered from January to December 2016, contained three types of questions: (1) neonatal and parental demographics; (2) parental knowledge and perceptions; and (3) parental preferences. Exclusion criteria included infant death, apprehension by child protection services and parents not fluent in French or English. RESULTS A total of 73 surveys were collected, for a final response rate of 38%. The majority (i.e., 81% of parents) reported having a resident involved in the care of their child. Significant findings included that level of education was shown to be directly correlated with knowledge of residents (r = 0.336, p = 0.006). Questions on parental knowledge revealed that 21% of respondents were not aware that residents are physicians. Most parents would like members of the medical team to identify their role. While 70 % of parents reported that residents effectively introduced themselves to them, 29% of desirous parents did not. CONCLUSION Most parents were familiar with the role of residents in this single-centre, prospective qualitative study. This survey highlights the importance of a clear introduction of the resident’s role to parents. Improved awareness of this factor may help residents improve their communication skills, and improve the family’s experience in the NICU.

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