Hospital staff corridor conversations: work in passing

Abstract

Aims: First, to document the prevalence of corridor occupations and conversations among the staff of a hospital clinic, and their main features. Second, to examine the activities accomplished through corridor conversations and their interactional organization.

Background: Despite extensive research on mobility in hospital work, we still know fairly little about the prevalence and features of hospital staff corridor conversations and how they are organized.

Design: We conducted a study combining descriptive statistical analysis and multimodal conversation analysis of video recordings of staff corridor practices in a hospital outpatient clinic in Switzerland.

Methods: In 2012, we collected 59 hours of video recordings in a corridor of a hospital clinic. We coded and statistically analysed the footage that showed the clinic staff exclusively. We also performed qualitative multimodal conversation analysis on a selection of the recorded staff conversations.

Results: Corridor occupations by the clinic staff are frequent and brief and rarely involve stops. Talk events (which include self-talk, face-to-face conversations and telephone conversations) during occupations are also brief and mobile, overwhelmingly focus on professional topics and are particularly frequent when two or more staff members occupy the corridor. The conversations present several interactional configurations and comprise an array of activities consequential to the provision of care and work organization.

Conclusion: These practices are related to the fluid work organization of a spatially distributed team in a fast-paced, multitasking environment and should be taken into consideration in any undertaking aimed at improving hospital units' functioning.

Keywords: contingent encounters; corridor conversation; corridor occupation; hospital staff; mobility; multimodal conversation analysis; nurses; outpatient clinic; professional communication; video-based research.