Introduction
Nurses interact with patients, their families, and doctors regularly, thereby making communication one of the most crucial skills in the nursing profession. However, effective communication skills serve as the backbone for providing quality patient care. Having strong communication skills in the nursing domain directly influences patient safety and overall health outcomes.
A nurse must possess exceptional nursing skills to become a successful healthcare service provider and should be able to make use of it whenever necessary.
In this blog, let us understand the importance of nursing communication, types of communication for nursing, and strategies to improve communication skills.
Communication in Nursing- An Overview
In the nursing field, communication is essential for successful interaction with healthcare teams, patients, and their families. It includes verbal, written, electronic, and non-verbal techniques to analyse a patient’s health concerns, provide appropriate care, and document the clinical information.
Effective and efficient communication in the nursing domain ensures patients feel emotionally supported and understood. In fact, having good communication skills and understanding the importance of nursing communication attributes to the professional success of a nurse.
Importance of Communication in Nursing
1. Promotes Professional Reputation
Effective communication is crucial to nursing as it positively reflects on the healthcare institution and the professional as well. Furthermore, communicating confidently, clearly, and politely with colleagues and patients portrays your image positively. And, this perception improves your professional reputation and image. Gradually, it paves the way for leadership roles, access to mentors, and lucrative job opportunities.
2. Builds trust
We trust the people who listen carefully and communicate clearly, and the nursing domain is no exception. Patients feel reassured and respected, when nurses explain medications, treatments, and care plans in simple words.
Overall, the importance of communication skills in nursing reduces patient’s anxiety, develops trust in nurses, and cooperation, all of which are key indicators of delivering quality healthcare services.
3. Cultural Awareness
In the nursing field, you will come across people from diverse cultural, educational, and social backgrounds. It is essential to be aware of these linguistic barriers and respond sensitively to people without hurting their feelings and emotions. However, understanding these diverse perspectives is crucial for providing effective patient care services.
4. Compassion
Compassion is a non-verbal communication skill that nurses must have. However, it leads to quick recovery from illness and relieves anxiety. Also, it is the responsibility of a nurse to provide compassionate care by understanding patient needs.
5. Enhances nurse-patient relationships
A healthy relationship between a nurse and the patient is built on effective communication. Compassion, empathy, and active listening assist the nurses to understand not only the physical health concerns, but also the psychological and emotional needs of the patients.
Various Communication Types in Nursing
1. Verbal communication
The majority of conversations with patients are verbal, making it essential to have exceptional verbal communication skills. Effective verbal communication for nursing includes voice clarity, choice of words, and tone- it plays a vital role in conveying messages to patients. Additionally, it is equally important for nurses to know when and how to ask the right questions to identify patient’s health concerns.
2. Non-verbal communication
When a patient is in pain or discomfort, it is important for the nurses to communicate through non-verbal cues. However, non-verbal communication aspects include eye-to-eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, and tone-often these aspects communicate more than words. Nurses must be adept at portraying these nonverbal cues correctly and help patients feel welcome.
3. Written Communication
In the nursing domain, nursing communication includes preparing discharge summaries, patient care plans, among others. Timely documentation of patient healthcare records is essential for providing continuing proper medical care to patients.
In metropolitan cities, hospitals witness patients from diverse backgrounds, i.e. culture and language. It would be beneficial if nurses could speak in the first language of the patients. This would drastically show improvement in diagnosing and treating patients and also make the patients feel safe and welcome.
Importance of Communication Skills in Nursing Education
For aspiring nursing students, having exceptional communication skills is equally important as clinical knowledge. The nursing course focuses on teaching patient counselling, professional interaction, and more.
Students who develop effective communication skills during the course are prepared for:
- Robust professional relationships.
- Communicate with healthcare teams, patients, and their families.
- Handle clinical scenarios in real-time
Tips to Improve Communication Skills
1. Using simple language
Avoid using medical terminology, especially while you communicate with patients and their respective families. Instead, explain the matter in a simple and understandable manner, and this is one of the key qualities of a good nurse.
2. Continuous learning
The nursing field requires you to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements. So, attending workshops, seminars, and other development activities focused on improving communication is crucial.
3. Develop Empathy and Compassion
Acknowledging your emotions towards the patient’s feelings and concerns.
4. Active listening
Give complete attention to patients, clarify doubts, and encourage sharing their thoughts.
5. Non-verbal signs
Pay attention to your body language, facial expressions, and use a supportive tone to provide support and comfort to patients.
Conclusion
Having effective communication skills in nursing is a critical competency. It directly impacts patient’s safety, care, satisfaction, and every major decision in a healthcare setting. And, having effective communication amongst healthcare teams, patients, and others, ensures compassionate patient care.
By focusing on improving overall communication skills, nurses can significantly strengthen teamwork, drive better patient outcomes, and play a vital role as a fundamental pillar of the healthcare system.
