Interpersonal Communication Nursing

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Communication plays a crucial, central part to any and all nursing care. It is what develops a relationship between nurse and patient through both verbal and non-verbal interactions. Communication is included in the NMBA's competency standards because of its high level of importance to effective nursing care. Without therapeutic communication nurses would be unable to discover important and often crucial information about patients. Therefore effective interpersonal communication is what drives nursing care and decisions made about patients and their individual care plans. There are many different skills needed and available to nurses to communicate with their patients in the best way possible. In order to communicating appropriately with patients …show more content…

On the 1st July 2010 the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia took over the control of these standards. They are described by the board as the standards against which nurses have their competency assessed (NMBA, 2006, p. 1). They represent the expectations of nurses from the governing board as well as the expectation the public should have. These standards make nurses accountable for their actions to ensure both a high level of and proper patient care is achieved.

The competency standards have an obvious connection to therapeutic communication and the importance of such in Standard 9.1. This standard discusses the need for boundaries, understanding and developing a rapport within an effective professional therapeutic relationship between nurse and patient. The standard also discusses the important for respecting and treating the patient appropriately to ensure best nursing practice is achieved as well as understanding the benefits therapeutic communication can have on patient outcomes (NMBA, 2006, pp. 7 - 8 )

In the healthcare setting to achieve best nursing practice effective communication is …show more content…

These skills may be decided upon because of that individuals specific factors as mentioned above. Therapeutic communication is that which achieves an understanding between nurse and patient and enhances their relationship (Berman, 2012). To achieve a relationship with a patient skills can be used within communication with that particular individual. The use of therapeutic patient can assist both patient and nurse through difficult circumstances (Rosenberg & Gallo-Silver, 2011).

One such skill is that of active listening. A nurse's job in communicating doesn't always mean they are delivering a message, it is often just as important to listen to the patients message. To deliver best care a nurse needs to listen to a patient respectfully and demonstrate a compassion and understanding for the message they are trying to convey (Webster, 2013). This may include the nurses posture, eye gaze, closeness to the patient (Berman, 2012). Body language must always be appropriate for the circumstances (O'Toole, 2012). An aspect of active listening could be the use of paraphrasing to understand a patient. A nurse needs to listen to what the patient is saying and then repeat the same idea and meaning back to the patient. By doing this the nurse shows they have been listening and understand what the patient is trying to say (Berman,

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