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Study
Challenging authority during a life-threatening crisis: the effect of operating theatre hierarchy.
December 19, 2012
Sydor DT, Bould MD, Naik VN, et al. Br J Anaesth. 2013;110(3):463-71.
In this simulation study, the majority of anesthesia trainees complied with a supervisor's order to transfuse blood to a patient who, for religious reasons, had explicitly refused transfusions under any circumstances. Most trainees did not question the order even when a non-hierarchical team structure had been established. This study mirrors a classic study of the authority gradient between nurses and attending physicians.
