Effective Communication In Nursing

Effective communication is an important skill needed in all facets of health care. Helping people at all levels through communication empowers them to recognize the important issues, find a common ground for action, and aides in implementing their decisions. Nurses need to place an emphasis on effective communication skills and be aware at all times of how they are coming across to the practitioner, the patient, and family members. Technology is continuing to improve the way we, as nurses, can communicate with others in health care and in our communication with our patients. Effective use of health communication and health information technology has “the potential to improve health care quality and safety, increase the efficiency of health care and public health service delivery, … support care in the community and at home, facilitate clinical and consumer decision-making, and build health skills and knowledge” (Blais & Hayes, 2013). It's important to be able to clearly state issues, be an accurate source of information and to offer necessary resources to our patients. When nurses are able to communicate well, the quality of care improves. The importance of communication extends through all clinical areas.

A 2013 Swedish study asked parents to complete sixteen questions about their experiences regarding communication in the NICU with nurses and physicians. A lot of parents expressed a disconnect with the staff and poor or unclear information regarding their infant's care. Stating they hadn't received sufficient information and guidance from nursing staff or that their abilities were underestimated (Weigert et al). Frequently this is because of visiting hour limitations, heavy workloads of the staff, or the parents inability to be present during care