Purpose: The purpose was to compare operating room (OR) nurses and general ward nurses on their communication competence and interpersonal relationship ability within the medical team. Methods: Participants were 276 nurses (OR 122, ward 154) working in one of 4 university hospitals located in I and K areas. Data were collected using a questionnaire and data collection was done in June, 2013. Comparisons between OR nurses and general ward nurses on communication competence and interpersonal relationship ability were analyzed using ANCOVA. Results: There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in communication competence (F=11.96, p=.001) with average score for OR nurses at 3.37 points and ward nurses at 3.53 points. There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in interpersonal relationship ability (F=15.51, p<.001) with the average score for OR nurses at 3.30 points and ward nurses at 3.50 points. Conclusion: The results indicate a need to develop a variety of programs to promote communication competence in OR nurses and to enhance the openness of interpersonal relationship ability in human resource management.