Nursing Communication: Different Forms Of Communication In Nursing

There were many forms of communication that occurred today that I had the opportunity to observe. To begin, there was constant communication between nurses. Nurses were always communicating with each other and with other staff to ensure that the best patient care possible was given. The day began with a team huddle that included the floor director and nursing staff. The director communicated the names of new staff, nurse aide staff, and any important precautions or information to be aware of. After the huddle, the night nursing staff passed off their patients to the new day shift nurses. During this process, SBAR was used. For example, the previous nurse would explain the patients situation or reason for being admitted, any relevant background or patient history to be aware of while performing their care, give a quick summary and assessment of how the patient was currently doing, and give any recommendations to the new nurse for how to help take care of that patient during the day. Another way I observed SBAR being used was when the nurse called the physician to ask for an order for eye drops. When the nurse called the physician he correctly demonstrated SBAR by

I observed and helped my nurse using these five steps throughout the day. One example of when we used this was when one of our patients was in pain. The nurse assessed the patient for pain and asked for his subjective opinion of how he would rate his pain. Then the nurse made a nursing diagnosis of acute pain and created a plan for treating his pain. Finally, he implemented the plan by giving pain medication, repositioning the patient, turning on the TV for distraction, and dimming the light. The patient was involved in the planning and implementing process through the nurse asking his opinions of his pain, what a tolerable amount of pain would be for him, and how he felt his pain would best be