Running Head: COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN NURSING 1

COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN NURSING

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN NURSING

Introduction.

In scenario one, two family members shows up after they were rung and informed that

one of their family members, Jim has been taken to the hospital. This follows an accident that has

happened late night in a nightclub where he was enjoying himself with his friends. Later, Jim is

taken to hospitals emergency department. The family members were angry because they have

been kept waiting on the bench for too long without anyone explaining to the situation of their

family member. The family members need someone to communicate to them. Their reactions

will be determined by how the information will be delivered to them. A good explanation has to

be accompanied by good communication skills. These skills will help in making the comfortable

and giving them hope that their family member will be well. In this paper, I will demonstrate

effective communication skills and the communication framework that a nurse should apply

when faced with such a situation.

Communication Concept

Assertive communication is a great tool especially when applied in nursing. This is

because it promotes fairness in a discussion. It helps one to listen and then reply where

necessary. The reason why assertive communication is important is because it removes the

concept where one is seen as being selfish, by talking without listening to others. In this scenario,

assertive communication would be the best, to make the two family members to feel they are

given the required attention.

The other two main forms of communication concepts that I would apply in this scenario

is verbal and non-verbal communicate frameworks (Bramhall, 2014). I would slowly approach
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the family members and apologize to them for having delayed them for quite a long time. I

would explain to them how busy we are to ensure we give attention to the patients. This would

divert their attention, and I would get time to introduce myself. By introducing myself to them, I

would create a psychological bond between us. I would also maintain a constant calm posture. I

would then move ahead and explain to them that their family member is undergoing treatment in

the intensive care unit. I would make them understand that being in intensive care unit is a

common occurrence and many patients have gone through it and they recover.

Using verbal communication to convey your information to the family of the patient is

the most efficient framework on can apply (Beck, 2011). This is because, in this scenario, the

kind of communication is direct. The members of the family are also seen to be in a hurry to

know the condition of their family member, Jim. Verbal communication helps in making the

commutation simple. The only hard thing for a nurse when it comes to the use of verbal

communication is initializing the commutation. One has to clearly learn and understand the

mood and the feelings of a patient or patients family.

The use of facial expression as a mode of non-verbal communication helps the nurse in

complimenting his verbal communication. It is easier to change or to influence the feelings of a

patient or patients family member by the way you approach them as a nurse. For a nurse to

achieve great communication with his patient, he should know how to combine both the verbal

and non-verbal communication skills.

Analysing the Communication Scenario

In this scenario, there are some elements that would act as barriers to effective

communication between the nurse and the patients family member. These elements can cause
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misunderstanding and violence. They can also cause hurting of persons feelings. For one to

achieve good communication and flow and understanding, he should be aware of these elements

and avoid them where possible.

One of the elements is attitude. Having an attitude can result to one communicating

poorly with other people (Francis, 2010). Attitude is a strong emotion of being unhappy or

angered. These strong feelings can make you less co-operative and less productive by halting the

effectiveness of your communication. In this scenario, if the nurse is much stressed and has

developed an attitude, he would likely not communicate effectively with the family members.

Having an attitude can make one be rude. This can trigger violence. The family of the patient

already have an attitude. Poking the nurse on the shoulder is a sign of being rude. The nurse

should, therefore, know how to handle them. He should know how to neutralize the situation.

The patients family attitude is triggered by their eager to know the condition of their family

member. For them staying on the bench for more than four hours, they feel neglected and no one

is interested in talking to them. The nurse should first apologize to the family members. This will

make them ease their anger and it will help in facilitating effective communication between

them. Having one party that is not ready to listen to affects total communication process.

The other element that would affect communication in this scenario is information

overload. The brain of a person takes some time to process a given piece of information (Beck,

2001). In a busy environment, like an emergency department of a hospital, the nurses get

involved in many activities within a given period. This makes them be tired and stressed. Stress

affects communication greatly. In this scenario, it is hard for the nurse to notice that the two-

family members have been there for a long period of time. This is because he or she is getting

involved in a number of activities at any given time. For the nurse to overcome this situation, he
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should make his communication activities shorter but effective. The nurses words should be

precise and direct to avoid spending more time at one point and moving to address other issues.

This will greatly save him or her time, that he will allocate to other important conversations and

activities. Good planning is essential for prevention of information overload.

Making assumptions is another element that causes ineffective communication. It is

always wrong to assume that something is well without clarifying (Department of Health, 2014).

When one assumes a wrong information, he is likely to make wrong decisions. The nurse made

the assumption that the two-family members sitting on the bench were okay. This made the two-

family members feel neglected. This triggered anger and could threaten peace in the hospital.

Giving people attention is very essential. It prevents the build-up of attitude that can late trigger

violence.

Effective Communication

When using both verbal and non-verbal communication framework, there are some

elements that one should consider to make sure that the discussion yields intended results. Verbal

communication is the most basic form of communication. In nursing, it involves the exchange of

words of mouth, or written information between the nurse and the patient, or nurse and the

patients family. The nurse should be well equipped with these basic skills for him or her to

interact and communicate smoothly with the patients.

One of this element is listening. The nurse should clearly listen at details before speaking

or taking action. In this scenario, the family was angered because they were not listened to. One

of the family members goes ahead and pokes the nurse on the shoulder. This shows that he feels

neglected by the nurse. The nurse has taken too long and she does not show any interest to speak
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to them. By listening, you show the patient or the patients family that you care about what has

happened to one of them. This will make them cool down and listen to what you will explain to

them. Listening is one of the most basic elements of verbal communication.

The other basic element of verbal communication is friendliness (Dewar, Pullin, &

Tocheris, 2011). When one is serving as a nurse, this element becomes vital. Friendliness is

expressed through speaking, facial expressions and other non-verbal communication techniques

like touch. A nurse should be quick at befriending a person. This will help in getting the

information. It will also help in building confidence to their patients and patients family

members. In the scenario presented, if the two-family members were befriended, they would

have acted the way they did. They would have waited for the nurse to conclude his or her work

and then attend them. Befriending people makes them feel that you care about them and it helps

in building confidence.

Confidence is another element of effective verbal and non-verbal communication.

Confidence can be portrayed while one is speaking by the way he puts his words or through non-

verbal communications such as facial expression. The nursing profession calls for one to have

confidence. This makes the patients feel comfortable when they are attended to by him or her.

The family members will become more comfortable when the nurse who explains the situation to

them portrays confidence. Confidence is more convincing than the words that one speaks.

Being aware of people emotions in a hospital setup is very essential. This is because as a

nurse, you will know which side to start your discussion. Most of the people become emotional

and they lose control of their feelings. It is also important to observe their emotions for your

personal safety as a nurse. In the above scenario, one of the family members is unable to control
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his emotions and ends up violating the nurses body space, and even poking his shoulder. When a

person is very emotional, the nurse should observe is personal safety by maintaining a distance.

This will give him or her time to talk with the patient or the patient family member, without

endangering their lives.

Effective communication in the hospital brings about a sense of safety, protection and

increased recovery rates in the hospitals (McCabe and Timmins, 2006). The management of the

hospital should work to create a department for handling patients family members. This will

ensure that they are attended to in the most effective way, reducing the burden on the nurses

shoulders. By employing the most effective verbal and non-verbal skills, the nurse should be able

to calm down the two-family members and explain to them the status of their family member.

Communication skills are essential when one is serving as a nurse in a medical field.
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References.

Beck C. (2001). Metasynthesis: Implication for nursing practice. Paper presented at the Eastern

Nursing Research Society, Atlantica.

McCabe C, Timmins F. (2002). Communication Skills for Nursing Practice. Palgrave

MacMillan.

Bramhall, E. (2014). Effective communication skills nursing practice. Nursing Standard.29,14,

53-59. print.

Department of Health. (2012). Compassion in Practice. Nursing Midwifery and Care Stuff. Our

Vision and Strategy. The stationery office. London.

Donnelly, E., Neville, L. (2008). Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Reflect Press, Exeter.

Francis, R. (2010). Independent Inquiry into Care Provision Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation

Trust. January 2005-March. 2009 volume I. The Stationery Office, London.

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Dewar, B., Pullin, S./ Tocheris, R. (2011). Valuing Compassion through definition and

measurement. Nursing Management. Print.