Implications of Shared Interactive Displays for Work at a Surgery Ward: Coordination, Articulation Work and Context-Awareness

We report on experiences gained from the use of large, shared interactive displays to support coordination and communication at a surgery ward. The displays combine on-line, updated surgery schedules, video feed, RFID tags, chat and mobile phones to improve the coordination and articulation of work tasks and enhance the context-awareness of collaborating physicians, nurses and surgery technicians. Implementing the system implied creating a fit, i.e. adapting technology and work processes to each other, attributing appropriate meaning to new clues for interpretation and action, and learning new ways of cooperating. We describe the implications of the system for work processes and focus on changes in coordination, articulation work and context-awareness. Trade-offs had to be made, since work and benefits were differentially redistributed. We propose that computer support for medical work should support flexible appropriation and learning.