The ethnographers at the CoMind Lab at the University of Bern are exploring diagnostic collaboration in emergency medicine. They want to get to know the inside perspective of all the people who are in an emergency department because they either work there or receive medical treatment. The focus is on both the work processes and the interactions between medical staff, patients, and their relatives. The researchers are investigating the following key questions: How is teamwork experienced in the diagnostic process? When, how and where do teams exist? What factors promote or hinder teamwork?

The researchers introduce themselves on this website in the tab “The Researchers”.

Ethnography is a research method used in cultural and social research to create as detailed a description as possible of a social or cultural process. To do this, ethnographers enter the “field” in which this process can be easily observed. In this study, the “field” is composed of two Swiss emergency departments.

Ethnographers collect data through participant observation and interviews. They record their observations in the form of handwritten “fieldnotes” while they are out in the field. After each day of observation, they type up these fieldnotes and supplement them with their fresh memories. In this way, they gradually create a dense description of the processes and actions within their research field. Ethnographers also conduct interviews. Interviews are based on central guiding questions, but can be very open and spontaneous. The data generated from the observations and interviews complement each other and allow ethnographers to draw a comprehensive picture of the field they set out to study.

In this study, ethnographic data consists of field notes, interview notes and transcripts, documents, and diagrams. In addition, the researchers keep lists of participants and retain the consent forms.

The data collection will take place in several blocks of 2-8 consecutive weeks between September 2025 and April 2026.

The data collection takes place in two emergency departments of larger hospitals in Switzerland. Details about these two emergency departments and the people working or receiving treatment there will not be published in order to protect the anonymity of all study participants.

No. Participation in the study is voluntary. You can refuse to participate or withdraw at any time without giving reasons and without having to fear any disadvantages. Of course, individual questions may also remain unanswered.

We require your written consent if you wish to participate in this study. The declaration of consent is available for download on this website in the “Consent Forms” tab. You do not have to print out the document yourself! The researchers will have consent forms with them on each observation day, which you can sign on site.

On various observation days, one of the researchers observes you as you go about your tasks, examinations, and consultations in the emergency department. The researcher makes her observations from a central location in the emergency department. If you allow it, the researcher will accompany you during your shift in order to better understand your personal working environment (your activities, responsibilities and interactions). You decide whether and for how long the researcher may accompany you during a shift. The researcher writes notes about her observations. In quieter phases and if you allow it, the researcher will ask you questions. If you agree, the researcher will interview you at a later date to talk with you in detail about your experiences in the emergency department. The interview is optional, however. You can decide in the course of the observations whether you would like to take the time for an interview or not.

The researcher sits with you in the waiting room and accompanies you to examinations and consultations with doctors and nurses. The researcher will write notes about your activities and interactions. In the waiting times between examinations, the researcher may ask you questions about your impressions of the emergency department and the treatment you have received. You can ask the researcher to leave the examination room at any time or request not to be asked any questions. If you agree, the researcher will interview you at a later date - once you have recovered and are feeling better - to go into more detail about your experiences in the emergency room. However, the interview is optional. You can decide in the course of the observations whether you would like to take the time for an interview.

There are no risks associated with participation in this study. Although not intended, it is possible that individual questions may trigger personal or emotional reactions. You have the option of not answering questions or ending the observations/interview at any time.

The data will be stored password protected and scientifically analyzed by the ethnographers with regard to their research questions. The ethnographers will then write scientific articles and/or books/book chapters on the research results. Mara Hofer and Simone Däppen will also write their Master's theses on the research carried out in the emergency departments.

Only the ethnographic researchers of the CoMind Lab at the University of Bern have access to the data, i.e. to the fieldnotes, the interview material (notes, transcripts and audio recordings if applicable), the participant lists and the consent forms. The ethnographic researchers introduce themselves on this website in the tab "The Researchers".

Prof. Dr. Juliane Kämmer, Head of the CoMind Lab, Prof. Dr. med. Wolf Hautz, Head of Research and Teaching at the University Clinic for Emergency Medicine at Inselspital Bern, and the directors of the participating emergency departments will receive the aggregated research data from Maike Isaac after completion of the study. The aggregated research data is a thematic summary of all research results. The aggregated research data does not contain the names of the study participants, descriptions of individual persons or situations, or quotes from study participants. Prof. Dr. Juliane Kämmer, Prof. Dr. med. Wolf Hautz and the directors of the participating emergency clinics do not have access to the fieldnotes, interview transcripts, participant lists or consent forms prepared by the researchers.

We explain in the graphic in the "Results" tab how the report on the study results is created and shared with study participants and the directors of the participating emergency departments.

No. In all publications relating to this study, all information that could be used to identify the name and location of the emergency departments studied, as well as the names of staff and patients, is handled confidentially and replaced by pseudonyms.

Maike Isaac will provide all interested parties who took part in the study with a summary of the results. Please provide us with your e-mail address on the consent form. We will also provide a summary of the research results on this website.

In the graphic in the "Results" tab, we explain how the report about the study results is prepared and shared with study participants and the directors of the participating emergency departments.

If you have any questions about this study or the use of your data, you can contact Maike Isaac at maike.isaac@unibe.ch at any time.