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The Uncertainty Room: Strategies For Managing Uncertainty In A Surgical Waiting Room, Anne M. Stone, John C. Lammers

Faculty Publications

Objective: To describe experiences of uncertainty and management strategies for staff working with families in a hospital waiting room. Setting: A 288-bed nonprofit community hospital in a Midwestern city. Methods: Data were collected during individual, semi structured interviews with 3 volunteers, 3 technical staff members, and 1 circulating nurse (n=7), and during 40 hours of observation in a surgical waiting room. Interview transcripts were analyzed using constant comparative techniques. Results: The surgical waiting room represents the intersection of several sources of uncertainty that families experience. Findings also illustrate the ways in which staff manage the uncertainty of families in the …