Nursing Communication : Teamwork And Communication In Nursing

Communication involves information being sent, received and decoded between two or more people (Balzer-Riley 2008) and involves the use of a number of communication skills; which in a nursing context generally focuses on listening and giving information to patients (Weller 2002). This process of sending and receiving messages has been described as both simple and complex (Rosengren 2000 in McCabe 2006, p.4). It is a process which is continually utilised by nurses to convey and receive information from the patient, co-workers, others they come into contact with and the patient’s family.

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.

Poor communication puts patients in danger because it can lead to medical errors and adverse events. For example, a medication error can occur if a physician’s orders are not updated in time or if the outgoing nurse does not provide the correct time in which a dose was administered last. Thus it is crucial to communicate any recent treatment that has been implemented. In this way, nurses and physicians can facilitate the prevention of errors. Another consequence of ineffective communication is that it can decrease morale and increase work-related stress among members of the healthcare team. If nurses and physicians are not understanding each other’s actions, conflict ensues. It can cause toxic interpersonal relationships. This, in turn, will affect the level of patient care because it is difficult to focus amidst emotional strain and

Courtenay, Nancarrow, and Dawson (2013) reviewed numerous articles that studied the effect of teamwork education (communication, cooperation, etc.) on the time and outcome of care. Courtenay et al. (2013) found that effective teamwork decreased the time necessary for critical treatments or surgery and also reduced the number of errors made. Courtenay et al. (2013) write that teams performed well when the responsibilities and role of each team member was known. Courtenay et al. (2013) also state that good teams shared an overall sense of mutual responsibility of the outcome of the patient.

An important aspect of nurse practice is communication as it is the process of transferring information, feelings and ideas (RCN, 2015). It also provides knowledge based on identifying behaviour patterns, establish a relationship between nurse and patient and it is also

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.

The efficiency of the team model is dependent on effective communication. Poor communication among the team members can place both team members and patients at risk. In addition, the doctors or other health providers may prefer to communicate with the charge nurse, which can lead to a breakdown of communication and subsequently influence patient care. To ensure open and effective communication, phones will be provided to staff for communication among and between team members and charge nurse. Non-urgent patient communication will be written on a team specific communication board.

This essay will highlight one of the key concepts of nursing .The concept that will be discussed in this essay will be communication, the reason for this chosen concept is that communication plays a vital role in everyday occurrences which defines how a situation is perceived by yourself, others and how communication is effectively handled . There will be a definition on what communication is also an evaluation of the chosen concept will be explored throughout this essay.

Detailed and timely communication among registered nurses (RNs) and other team members, leads to improved quality measures and outcomes. In fact, studies have shown that negative outcomes were often linked to communication errors. As such, safety, delegation, and quality of care are dependent on one another. In other words, effective teamwork among the nursing staff directly impacts overall employee satisfaction and staff morale which leads to positive patient outcomes.

The RN who is the gateway to patient care looks at the patient’s situation (current status, code status, level of uncertainty, recent changes and response to treatment…), background (comorbidities, previous episodes, current medication, family history…), assess the patient’s overall health condition and communicates vital information to all team members that are directly involved in the patient’s care during an emergency (Hood, 2014). During the course of my learning experience as a nurse, I realized that the main components in nursing profession is prioritizing information before initiating it. The use of SBAR when communicating patient’s condition to physicians, specialists, dentists, nurses and other healthcare team has improved my communication skills and has also helps physicians to determine the order of treatment for the patient thereby improving the overall patient’s

Effective communication is one of the utmost characteristics of a high-quality health care model that responds to the existing needs of the general population. However, communication may sometimes be taken for granted and therefore fail to relay important information between health care providers within the interprofessional team. In today’s health care setting, communication is particularly challenging due to the limited time constrain in the workplace. In spite of the utilization of existing charts and documentation, errors are made. In this paper, a real life clinical scenario is discussed which involved a breakdown of

There are three methods being used to improve interdisciplinary communication. The three methods are Situation Background Assessment Situation (SBAR), Team Headlines, and Multidisciplinary Rounds using Daily Goal Sheet. The SBAR is a method of communication used by health care professional team to transfer effective communication about the patient. It allows the nurse to identify a situation, assess the patient, and give the physician recommendations on what the nurse think is best. When the SBAR method is used correctly between nurse and physician, the patient will receive proper treatment in a timely fashion. A team headline is a method of communication used by health care providers in the beginning of

Professional health care communication generates positive outcomes when participants establish relationships using the fundamental elements of respect, honesty, and mutual control to create open lines of communication. Establishing a symmetrical level of control between health care professionals allows everyone to share equal control of the relationship. In this setting members are vital participants on the health care team allowing members to share thoughts, concerns, and suggestions freely in the effort to accomplish goals to improve patient care, and produce healthy outcomes. Effective communication is necessary when collaborating in groups with other health care professionals. To reach positive outcomes participants need to participate actively with the other members sharing insight, concerns, and solutions assertively. On the floor health care professionals use effective communication to delegate assignments to other health care professionals, provide feedback, and establish relationships with management. Proficiency in these areas facilitates the proper functioning of the unit, competency of the employees, and maintains an open communication network with the leaders of the floor.

The fundamentals to providing quality patient care is teamwork and effective communication. According to O’Daniel and Rosenstein (2008), the components that are needed for successful teamwork as follows :

Teamwork and communication are very important in providing good quality care, especially in the healthcare field. A team is described as a group of people that works together and cooperatively, between each member of the group to reach a common goal (Sullivan, 2013). For a team to function, communication is essential. A report by McKay and Crippen (2008), as stated by Alfaro-LeFevre, (2013) showed that when collaboration is in place, hospitals can decrease their mortality rate by 41%. When mortality rate is lower, hospitals does not only decreased cost, but it also means that patients are receiving good quality care.