Interpersonal Communication Nursing Communication

According to Kourkouta and Papathanasiou (2014), nurses’ practice requires a “composition of knowledge, clinical work, and interpersonal communication.” High quality patient care depends not only on the individualized service a healthcare professional offers, but also on the message transmitted and received among the multidisciplinary team. The message must be clear, concise, concrete, adequate, effective, and coherent. The message is the essential part of communication that can be verbal, nonverbal, or written. Finkelman (2012) defines communication as “a two-way process that is used to convey a message or an idea between two or more people (p.378).” It is very important to understand the communication sequence, its logic, and its meaning.

Furthermore, the RN seeks improvement in his/her own communication to gain skills for the resolution of conflicts. Another is that the RN uses communication formats that promote accuracy in the message conveyed to others. In this case, the kind of format will vary depending on the receiver that may be the patient, another nurse, a physician, or other. For instance, technical language used among healthcare colleagues, will not be use for the patient. When noting decisions that do not appear to be for the best interest of the patient, questions it and its rationale. It is also part of effective communication to disclose concerns on hazards and errors that may compromise safety of patient care and environment. Lastly, risks during transfers and transitions in care deliver can be minimized when maintaining effective communication with other healthcare professionals. The RN discuses his/her own personal perspectives, so contributing with the interdisciplinary team (ANA, 2010,

Effective communication diminishes clinical errors. Jones (2012), in her article, explains how good communication is important to relieve patient concerns and anxieties, which is also a key to build rapport with patients. She adds, “Effective communication underpins any decision-making shared by patients and health professionals as well as enhancing patient safety.” Furthermore, she emphasizes that patients consider the following aspects as common themes in effective communication: Involvement in decisions and respect for preferences; clear comprehensible information, and support for self-care, emotional support, empathy and respect; and continuity of care and smooth transitions. In addition, the use of a communication tools such as the Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR) is nowadays popular for facilitating suitable communication among all members of the clinical team (Jones,