The Importance Of Communication In Nursing

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 crucial aspect of nursing yet too often is placed low on the priority list, especially at shift change. Information related to the care of patients is frequently disseminated at a crowded, noisy nurse station with several nurses rushing to leave and others attempting to get the information necessary to plan care and limit the constant distractions. It is this interaction that allows for information vital patient safety information to be communicated including the acuity of patients.

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.

A health assessment is an important part of the nursing process. The components of a comprehensive health assessment include the collection of both subjective and objective data from the patient to establish their overall level of health. It is important to develop a trusting nurse-patient relationship when interacting with all patients, especially with patients that have not had prior health care provider interactions. A patient who had never been seen by a healthcare provider may be nervous and apprehensive of what to expect in the situation. The nurse should use effective communications skills including eye contact and active listening and try to gain the trust of the patient. Systems used in the collection of data include, “active listening, restatement, reflection, elaboration, silence, focusing, clarification, and summarizing” in my verbal communication with this patient (Jensen, 2015, p. 19). The nurse needs to make clear any part of the history where there are questions.

It can be hard for nursing students to apply theoretical knowledge to clinical setting without some proper guidance and support. This paper will discuss a critical incident which occurred in Week 3 of my N308 clinical course. The incident was related to skilled communication and organized prioritization, which are topics covered in N307 seminar. From a nursing perspective, this incident made me realize the importance of effective communication, prioritisation, and management skills because disorganized care would pose a threat to patient’s safety and compliance with the fundamental principles listed in the CNA code of ethics (Canadian Nurses Association, 2017).

Holistic healthcare demands interpersonal collaboration within the nurses and the community for the excellent care of the patient. For example, for a patient suffering from a mental disorder, it is necessary for the nurses to collaborate with each other as well as with the social workers assigned to the patient and his family, which is true if the patient is also a guardian. (Wagner, Liston, & Miller, 2011). The nurses will have to take medical care of the patient while the social worker tends to his social needs such as the welfare of his family. Therefore, it is imperative that the nursing and social work personnel have good communication skills. Communication enhances teamwork that will lead to the caregivers sharing insights and ideas with

Since a good communicator is well informed, I believe that having collected all the necessary information, he will be able to use his knowledge to evaluate and analyze to come up with the best diagnosis. Analyzing the information will be helpful to the nurse for he will easily help the patient.  He is able to comprehend all that he has gained during his listening phase and thus come up with the sense the information gathered makes. This way, the patient will feel at ease knowing that he or she has somebody who can attend to his or her health needs (Nursing Times. Net, 2011).  There is the conclusion phase, which the nurse has to use her good communication skills to know what need to be added in the already given information. By creating conducive environment for the patient, the latter will feel at ease and this way, he will able to pass across all the essential information. In this case, the conclusion stage will most of the times lack anything for addition. The last stage will be the action plan. In this stage, the nurse will use her knowledge, both acquired and learn, to come up with a beneficial action plan to the patient. This will enable the patient build trust in the nurse.Communication is therefore very necessary in any form of profession and therefore nurses should use the best form of communication to avoid threatening the patients.

As stated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA, 2014), when using social media, health practitioners should be aware that National codes of ethics and professional conduct apply. The British journal of Nursing (Farrelly, 2014) articulates that as a student nurse and future health professional, I have a responsibility to understand social media and confidentiality in the health care context. To become a successful nurse I will need to build trusting relationships with my patients, which will involve them being confident that their personal information will be protected by myself as a nurse. To achieve this it is essential that I adjust the ways I use social media and become more cautious of what I am posting online. For example, as a student and future RN, it is crucial that I do not discuss patients or post pictures, case studies or sensitive material which may enable patients to be identified. The misuse of social media may also have a negative effect on team-based patient care, for example if it is used as a tool to “cyber bully”

Communication is the foundation of exchanging information from one person to another, whether it is in the form of written, spoken or by body language, communicating is vital to everyone. Therefore, effective communication is imperative within the healthcare, for it is through communication relationships, information and understanding are obtained. The purpose of this paper is to read the critical thinking exercise with Nurse Oliver Witte and describe the problems that are presented, whose problems it is? What should Olivia do about it? In addition, I will discuss what mode of communication Olivia is using and in what order should she communicate with first, along with who else needs to be involved with this her communication. Lastly, what type of leadership and management strategies should Olivia use?

The Nursing and Midwifery Council highlight the importance of communication in their code of conduct. Being a nurse comes with many responsibilities such as; updating patients periodically about their health status, speaking to them politely and patiently and making them feel comfortable and reassured (Danielle Brown, 2014). For any health care professional it is important they use the right language and terminology when updating a patient on their condition. By doing so, this gives them a clearer understanding of their condition (Donnelly and Nevelle, 2008). It’s important for nurses to recognise what they’re saying to their patients. In the health care setting it is very easy for information to be misunderstood and this may cause conflict or frustration. This is one of the many reasons why it’s important to be aware of the

Mr. Comer was admitted to his local community hospital for respite care. He has suffered multiple, acute strokes in the past, which has left him with severe disabilities. These include paralysis rendering him immobile, aphasia (speech loss) and dysphagia (swallowing difficulties). He relies on carers for all normal activities required for daily living (Roper et al 1996) and is advised to have a pureed diet and thickened fluids.

Communication is the way information is processed. In nursing communication is important because it’s the key to providing safe and effective patient care. According to Hood, (2014) “Mastery of communication skills is necessary for carrying out the mission of safe, effective, high-quality and nursing care to clients, families, and communities” (p.106).To be a successful nurse possessing great communication skills is vital.

How often does a registered nurse effectively communicates the medication and the rationale and or importance for taking the medication to their patients? I chose goal nine from the fifteen Patient Safety Goals created by the The Joint Commission on Accreditation and HealthCare Organizations. Goal nine, or NPSG.03.06.01, focuses on maintaining and communicating accurate patient medication information. Whether it is from the physician to the nurse or the nurse to the patient. Lack of proper communication often leads to medications errors. In fact, in 1999, the Institute of Medicine estimated approximately 7,000 deaths are caused by medication errors annually. This can be a mixture of not being competent with medications, not effectively communicating

Verbal communication includes the physical spoken words that results from functional cognitive and physiological mechanisms that result in, recognize, and receive speech (Hood). Nurses employ many different strategies so that they may communicate effectively. Nurses use open-ended questions when asking their patient for information (Dwyer, M.). This requires the patient to respond with more than simply “yes” or “no,” and facilitates further communication between the nurse and patient. An example of an open-ended

Therapeutic Communication has a huge impact on patients, whether, we, as nurses, see it or not. It is very important for a nurse to gain a patient’s trust. Many patients are already filled with sadness, nervousness and unsure thoughts of their current situation. Such thoughts may make a person scared to trust or open up to a nurse or doctor. Developing a close rapport with a patient can help to create a safe, warming environment, resulting in a positive experience throughout their time in the hospital or even nursing home. In “Therapeutic Communication”, Anna Lauria opens saying, “What we say or do not say can influence whether a client is able to quiet his mind, relax his body and initiate a healing response” (Lauria). Being a nurse, we automatically have the opportunity to create a strong influence on patients’ lives during, and even after, their hospital experience.