Impact Of Communication On Nursing Practice

The practice of nursing utilizes constant communication between nurses, patients, physicians, coworkers, and various other members of the healthcare team. It is clear that effective communication is vital in the provision of safe and effective nursing care. A long history of miscommunication-related medical errors has spurred research aimed toward improving communication and lessening consequent error. Research has identified various forms of communication structure acronyms that when used correctly, allows for a more organized and precise shift report. These acronyms include SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation, and SHARE (Standardize, Hardwire, Allow opportunities to ask questions, Reinforce, and Educate). In addition, studies have identified a more effective shift report location that enhances nurse-to-nurse as well as nurse-to-patient communication. Bedside reporting was explored and determined to be a very effective form of nursing report that increases overall patient safety and satisfaction. Communication improvement is a continuous focus within the healthcare arena and is vital in the provision of safe patient care.

The interview was conducted with a registered nurse with more than 10 years’ experience. Her current role is working in the Medical Assessment and Planning Unit, in particular, the palliative care area. On a regular basis, her role involves providing safe and quality care to her patients, and more specifically end of life care. In doing so, two predominant skills of communication

Effective communication is essential for a nurse in a leadership position. If a nurse is not able to convey or transfer pertinent information to other team members or clients, conflict or problems can arise. A nurse is able to effectively communicate through creating synergy, establishing a purpose or goal, actively listening, being truthful, and being responsible. When a nurse leader is able to successfully communicate, patient safety increases and medical errors decrease which leads to a higher percentage of positive patient outcomes. Effective communication fosters positive nurse-patient and nurse-team member relationships.

Communication is any form of expressing and receiving of messages between individuals. The importance of Communication in the nursing profession is to maintain high quality care for the patient but also maintain effective collaboration between professionals. Boykins, D (2014) states that the “registered nurse is expected to communicate in various formats and in all areas of practice”. Various formats include speaking to patients and coworkers as well as utilizing appropriate protocols and systems to effectively communicate regards to patient’s status.

In nursing profession, communication is one of the vital interprofessional collaboration competencies. A slack in communication gap will affect effective teamwork in providing efficient patient care delivery. Without integrated cooperation and effective communication, there will be a delinquency in the healthcare system, resulting in

The Hospital environment can offer some practical challenges that could be barriers in communications. Many patients have individual needs and this can impede on a nurses time and emotions. Nurses put in long hours and have a high patient/nurse ratio or shortage of healthcare workers. Nurses/personnel have to deal with emergencies in an already challenging and busy hospital setting. Dealing with patients takes mental acuity and emotional support and sensitivity. Hospital guidelines might not have sufficient communication practices among personnel in place.

Patient safety, and care are the top priorities for healthcare providers, and that is why communication is greatly encouraged (Coiera, 2006). Examples of communication in the healthcare setting are face-to-face, emails, SBARs, rounds, phone calls, and meetings (Coiera, 2006). In order to disseminate information regarding the change topic, it is crucial for the stakeholders to practice good communication skills. Nurses for example give report to nurses through an SBAR, which is great because they can explain to the incoming nurse how the patient, and parent reacting to the skin-to-skin contact care (Daughtery et al., n.d). Not only is it essential for these stakeholders to communicate in the various ways listed, but it is important that they are trained, and educated enough to be able to support the

Communication plays a vital role in the healthcare setting, as the relationship with the healthcare professional sets the tone of the care experience and has a powerful impact on patient satisfaction. It is “the shared process in which messages are sent and received between two or more people which are made up of a sender, receiver, and message in a particular context” (cite, date). This essay highlights the importance of, and some common barriers to, effective communication in the healthcare setting. It involves many interpersonal skills such as effective observation, questioning and listening, giving feedback, recognizing and removing barriers.

A descriptive study was performed by Hailu, Kassahun, and Kerie (2016) on 341 nurses and 168 physicians to determine the perception of nurses and physician regarding nurse-physician communication during patient care delivery. Findings revealed that nurses reported low perception on their level of communication with the physicians while a very significant gap was observed on physicians perceived their level of communication with nurses. This significant gap suggests that interventions need to be implemented to improve nurse-physician communication and solve mishaps in patient care which was found to be the leading cause of preventable medical errors, patient injuries, increased healthcare costs, complications, and death (Hailu, Kassahun, and Kerie,

“Historically, nurses have provided patient information to the oncoming nursing staff to ensure the continuity of care (Chaboyer et al., 2009)” (Maxson, Derby, Wrobleski, & Foss, 2012, p.140). In that era of nursing, shift report also consisted of audio tapes, written reports, and the nurse in charge informing the oncoming nursing staff of their patient assignments. Shift report has

Communication is only effective when the receiver understands the message conveyed just as the sender wanted to. There are opportunities for improvement in the areas of communication network within Baptist Memorial Healthcare. I have observed a breakdown in communication between nurses and the patients they are caring for. A lot of times the nurse companion phones that the nurses are issued do not work properly. In this instance, the nurse is unaware of patient’s specific needs. There is not a direct line of communication to inform the nurse that the patient needs assistance. The organization is aware of this fact and is implementing training on new nurse companion phones, so that; the needs of the patient are met in a timely fashion. There

(2012). The challenges of nurse-physician communication. Journal of Nurse Administration 42(12). pg. 548-550. Retrieved from: http://journals.lww.com/jonajournal/Citation/2012/12000/The_Challenges_of_Nurse_Physician_Communication__A.3.aspx

The research found in many of the 10 articles adequately explains and supports the need for a change in communication of nurse’s who provide care for patients. All of the articles found during my research state that communication is an issue and many of the articles researched used bedside reporting as the solution and documented the findings. One research article reported nurse satisfaction increasing from 37% to 78% after bedside implementation (Evan, Grunawalt, McClish, Wood, & Friese, 2012). Verifying that the use of bedside report is crucial to patient handoff with regards to nurse communication. There are many research article that conclude that bedside reporting is a quicker more efficient way of handing off care of the patient

In this article, Timmens (2011) explores how the manager of a unit maintains a good workplace by using efficient communication. It is interesting how she points out that good communication is not only important in the unit with coworkers and staff but overall for patient care and safety. Communication with the family during family-centered rounds, can help with patient safety concerns and increase the quality of care. If patients feel their needs are met and they know their role in their care, the quality of the institution will improve. Confidentiality is key in communicating with staff and developing a trust relationship. Timmens (2011) highlights that nurse managers are key role models to the staff in the unit, therefore they must lead the

A study from Hailu (2016) shows, “lack of nurses’ skill in assessment, time constraints, physician attitude towards the nurses, nurses’ attitude towards the physicians, way of communication, poor communication skills of nurses and physicians were individual related factors associated with nurse physician communication (p.2), these could lead to a bad work environment meaning patient care could be put in jeopardy. Physicians behavior has shown to be a leading cause of the breakdown of communication with nurses, it is hard for nurses to communicate their medical views when physicians rudely interrupt and question their medical opinions. The chart featured below shows the framework perceived of nurse-physician communication: (Hailu,2016,