Communication Skills In Nursing

According to Brenda Rush and Joan Cook (2006), Professors from the University of Nottingham School of Nursing, one of the most important aspects of being a “good nurse,” identified by patients, is effective communication (as cited in Astbury, 2008). As explained by Fakhr-Movahedi, Salsali, Negarandeh, and Rahnavard (2011), professors from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, strong communication skills are essential to posses in a career as a nurse to assist in “prevention, treatment, therapy, rehabilitation, education, and health promotion” (as cited in Kourkouta and Papathanasiou, 2014, p. 65). Nurses must master verbal, nonverbal, and written communication skills to be able to provide the best care for their patients. It is imperative

Although prospective nurses might not posses these skills prior to becoming a nurse, the multiple years of higher education allow for the strengthening of these communication skills. Verbal, nonverbal, and written communications are skills I am still developing, but later in my career as a nurse these skills will be essential for providing the best care and treatment for patients.
Verbal:
Baseline Skills: I am still a bit timid when it comes to my verbal skills, but throughout my life, these skills have been slowly developing. Verbal communication is the most common form of communication. Verbal communication is used everyday, whether it is ordering a coffee in the morning, lunch at a restaurant, or telling the store clerk what size dress I need. Ever since I was a baby, I was taught to verbally communicate. It is one of the major stepping-stones in a person’s life. Through education, I have had to strengthen my skills for interviews and speeches. For example, I have had job interviews, volunteer interviews, and interviews to get into certain education programs like honor societies. I’ve taken speech classes, where we had to give a speech every month including memoirs, informative speeches, declarative speeches, and debates. At my last dance

Another role of a nurse is to be the patient’s advocate and “eyes and ears” of the doctor. The nurse gathers first hand information from the patient and reiterates it to the doctor. The nurse and doctor work together to find a diagnosis. Verbal communication between doctors and nurses are essential to provide a successful outcome for the patient. Barrett, Selman, and Thomas (2005), believe verbal communication between nurses and doctors is viewed as necessary for “joint decision making based upon shared professional perspective’ which enables those involved to articulate their own perspectives, listen to the views of others and negotiate outcomes’” (as cited in Astbury, 2008). If there is weak verbal communication or tension between doctors and nurses, the workplace can become negative. A negative relationship between doctors and nurses and poor verbal communication can cause frustration and potentially harmful outcomes for the patient. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a list of the leading causes of death in the United States and deaths due to medical errors was third (Neese, 2015). In 2013, The Joint Commission estimated 80% of these cases were due to miscommunication (Neese, 2015). Pratt reflects on how in her years, she had to deal with plenty miscommunications regarding medications, especially when patients are discharged (C. Pratt, personal