According to Nursing Today: Transition and Trends, communication failures are the number one leading cause of sentinel events in healthcare. To say the least, effective communication is a foundation to nursing. In order to be an effective and successful nurse it is important to have excellent communication skills. These skills not only help build relationships with patients and families, but also aid in preventing serious mistakes, providing compassionate, high quality nursing care and overall improving health outcomes and patient satisfaction. The aim of this essay is to provide readers’ with information about effective communication and the barriers to that communication. Communication, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is a process by which
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A few barriers in verbal speech include: slurred speech, mumbling, speed of speech, volume of speech, different cultures/language, eating while speaking, and the neurological status of the patient. In the article Effective Communication Skills in Nursing Practice, patient barriers and healthcare professional barriers are categorized. Patient barriers can include: noise, fear and anxiety related to health, lack of privacy, lack of control, and/or being emotional. The healthcare professional barriers include: time constraints, high workloads, and/or fear and anxiety related to causing the patient to be distressed by talking or responding to questions (Bramhall, 2014). Successful nurses are aware of these common barriers to effective communication and are able to anticipate and properly respond to any hurdles that …show more content…
A nurse’s ability to communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals can determine their success. Nurses work with patients during their most vulnerable time and being able to recognize distress cues by way of verbal and nonverbal language can make all the difference in the world to that patient. Good communication also improves the quality of care delivered as well as the overall outcome. So in order to deliver compassionate nursing care all nurses need to take the time to understand what it takes to be an effective communicator, practice their communication style and competently apply it to their
A few barriers in verbal speech include: slurred speech, mumbling, speed of speech, volume of speech, different cultures/language, eating while speaking, and the neurological status of the patient. In the article Effective Communication Skills in Nursing Practice, patient barriers and healthcare professional barriers are categorized. Patient barriers can include: noise, fear and anxiety related to health, lack of privacy, lack of control, and/or being emotional. The healthcare professional barriers include: time constraints, high workloads, and/or fear and anxiety related to causing the patient to be distressed by talking or responding to questions (Bramhall, 2014). Successful nurses are aware of these common barriers to effective communication and are able to anticipate and properly respond to any hurdles that …show more content…
A nurse’s ability to communicate with patients and other healthcare professionals can determine their success. Nurses work with patients during their most vulnerable time and being able to recognize distress cues by way of verbal and nonverbal language can make all the difference in the world to that patient. Good communication also improves the quality of care delivered as well as the overall outcome. So in order to deliver compassionate nursing care all nurses need to take the time to understand what it takes to be an effective communicator, practice their communication style and competently apply it to their