Table 1.

Survey results

		Overall (n=106)	Consultants (n=9)	Residents (n=33)	Nurses (n=45)	Paramedics (n=19)
Gender	Male	83	9	27	28	19
	Female	23	0	6	17	0
Age	< 20	3	0	0	1	2
	20–30	76	1	19	39	17
	31–40	23	5	13	5	0
	> 40	3	3	0	0	0
Time in clinical practice	< 4 years	63	2	13	32	16
	5–9 years	37	3	20	11	3
	> 9 years	6	4	0	2	0
Percent of clinical practice time in EDs	< 25%	6	0	2	3	1
	26–50%	34	2	6	18	8
	51–75%	40	4	16	13	7
	> 76%	26	3	9	11	3
Training in communication?	Yes	74	7	18	33	16
	No	27	2	13	10	2
Current work hours per week	< 40	9	2		6	1
	40–80	87	7	29	37	14
	> 80	6	0	2	1	3
Do you explain diagnoses to the patient or family?	No	18	0		15	3
	Yes	84	9	31	29	15
How many languages do you speak?	1	0	0	0	0	0
	2	12	1	1	7	3
	3	35	2	11	15	7
	4	32	3	12	13	4
	5	22	3	6	9	4
	6	5	0	3	1	1
Are you fluent in English?	No	19	0	0	12	7
	Yes	86	9	33	32	12
If yes, in which of the following ways are you fluent?	Yes spoken	71	8	33	19	11
	Yes reading	75	9	31	17	8
	Yes writing	67	7	29	27	6
Are you fluent in the language spoken by the majority of patients?	No	10	0	3	6	1
	Yes	95	9	30	38	18
If yes, in which of the following ways are you fluent?	Yes spoken	86	7	30	32	17
	Yes reading	64	4	24	25	12
	Yes writing	59	4	21	22	12
What language do you speak most of the time with your fellow providers in the Emergency Department?	English	28	6	13	9
	Malayalam	61	2	9	32	18
	Hindi	3		3
	Kannada	5	1	1	3
	Tamil	2		2
	Other	4		3		1
During which of the following instances do you think communication can be a problem?	Triage	38	2	9	17	10
	Patient interview	43	5	14	16	8
	Handoff	18	8	8	2
	ED physician-consultant interaction	17	2	11	4
	Physician-nurse interaction	15	2	8	4	1
	Supervisor-trainee interaction	6	2	3		1
	Physician-paramedic interaction	4	2	2
Are you aware of any critical incidents in the past 12 months in the Emergency Department where you work in which poor communication played a part?	No	46	3	6	26	11
	Yes 1	26	3	12	8	3
	Yes 2–5	26	3	11	9	3
	Yes > 5	4	0	2	1	1
Which of the following barriers may have played a role in that poor communication?	Language	30	4	10	14	2
	Noise	15	0	6	8	1
	Pt volume	25	2	13	4	6
	Time constraints	32	5	11	12	4
	Role identification	13	3	5	4	1
	Long working hours	23	1	12	9	1
	Difference in knowledge	28	5	15	6	2
Do these long working hours affect your ability to communicate effectively?	Always	23	1	8	1	2
	Sometimes	56	5	18	25	8
	Rarely	9	1	4	3	1
	Never	14	2	1	1	7
When you explain English medical knowledge to patients in a different spoken language, do you think that information is lost or changed?	Always	7	1	1	2	3
	Sometimes	61	6	22	24	9
	Rarely	22	1	6	12	3
	Never	12	1	2	6	3