Abstract
With anesthesiology increasingly practiced outside the operating room (OR) environment, it is important that anesthesiologists begin to identify and to teach the communication skills required for practice in non-OR general hospital settings. The “one back” position of the consultant, and the associated diminished sense of immediate control, can generate discomfort for many clinicians. This article discusses the literature regarding practice as a consultant and the navigation of conflict with an emphasis on how anesthesiologists might apply the findings to out-of-OR practice.