Superstitions among perioperative nurses

AORN Journal, May, 2005 by David L. Mandell, Margie L. Claypool, David J. Kay

OTHER MEDICAL SUPERSTITIONS. In a 2004 study, house officers in a variety of disciplines and postgraduate years were asked to fill out a survey anonymously on work-related superstitions (n = 93 surveys returned). (4) Overall, 22% of residents said they were superstitious in general, 65% believed that certain residents worked under a black cloud, and 48% tried not to utter the word "quiet" for fear it would make their on-call night more difficult. Forty percent believed that rain eased call, whereas 12% believed rain worsened call. Twenty percent believed that the moon phase affected call, and 37% believed in call night themes leg, ectopic pregnancies occurring in "threes"). Ten percent believed in lucky scrubs or talismans, and 7% believed in capricious "call gods." Using a logistic regression analysis, researchers found that some of the superstitious beliefs intensified as the residents' level of training increased. Even those participants who did not consider themselves to be superstitious still held superstitious beliefs about being on call.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study was designed to answer the following research questions.

1. What is the prevalence of work-related superstitions among perioperative nurses?

2. Is there a difference in the amount of work-related superstitious belief based on the age of perioperative nurses?

3. Is there a difference in the amount of work-related superstitious belief based on years of work experience in perioperative nursing?

4. Does belief in work-related superstitions differ between perioperative nurses who view themselves as "generally superstitious" and those who do not?

METHODS

The researchers used a descriptive survey design, in which anonymous questionnaires were completed by participants, and the results were subsequently tabulated and analyzed to provide answers to the research questions. The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, institutional review board reviewed the study protocol and designated it as exempt under section 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations 46.101(b)(2). (8)

QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT. The questionnaire was created by the study authors and consisted of a single, one-sided page. Respondents first were asked to indicate their gender, age, and the number of years they had worked in a perioperative setting. Next, 15 common work-related superstitions were listed. Check-boxes on the questionnaire allowed respondents to indicate if they agreed or disagreed with each superstition. Participants also were asked if they considered themselves to be generally superstitious. The choice of which superstitions to include in the survey was derived from the personal experiences of the authors, as well as from some medical superstitions that had been selected by the authors of another study with a similar design)

SAMPLE. The study sample consisted of all 300 RN members of the Pittsburgh chapter of AORN. Members were identified using a mailing list provided by the chapter.

PROCEDURES. A copy of the superstition questionnaire was sent with a cover letter and a self-addressed, stamped, return envelope to each member of the chapter (N = 300). The cover letter gave participants a brief overview of the study and encouraged them to complete and return the survey even if they were not superstitious. The completed surveys were returned by mail to the senior author.