Four C's Of Professional Nurse Communication

Communication in the field of nursing is so important. To communicate with our patients and other members of the health care team is something we must do, and do well. The article Collaboration, Credibility, Compassion, and Coordination: Professional Nurse Communication Skill Sets in Health Care Team Interactions, was an extremely informative article. It discusses the importance of the four C’s of professional nursing. As a critical care nurse, I use these 4 C’s on a daily basis.
Collaborating with coworkers and doctors to identify problems, and come up with solutions is essential when working in a critical care environment. Every Monday and Thursday in the ICU we have what’s called grand rounds. During grand rounds, the manager, charge nurse, bedside nurse, intensivist, palliative care nurse, pharmacist, nutritionist, and chaplain, discuss every patient that’s on a ventilator and collaborates on the current plan of care. We discuss the patient’s history, along with the current plan of care and any ideas or suggestion are also discussed to ensure the best possible outcome for the patient.
Every nurse should work on credibility.
When you’re a professional and you work with doctors, credibility is imperative. Nurses in the ICU spend over 12 hours with our patients and we become the eyes and ears for the doctors. When calling a doctor about a crucial issue, it’s key to be as professional as possible which in turn gives you the credibility needed to address the issue with your patient. Without this credibility, doctors become frustrated and may not quite understand the problem at hand. Being able to communicate with credibility is vital when it comes to further orders which could be life or death for the
patient.
Compassion is not only something we need to encompass with our patients, we need to strive to have compassion for our coworkers. In the ICU we are one big team. This team, which consist of doctors, nurses, nurse techs, and unit secretaries are surrounded by life and death situations. Communicating with compassion goes so much further. We need to help each other and be pleasant in the process. I appreciate all of my coworkers and at the end of a stressful situation, commenting on a job well done or communicating positively with compassion, makes for a healthier working environment.
In the area I work, we are fortunate to have great charge nurses. They lead us through the day by coordinating the staff, patients, and any other issues at hand. The charge nurse leads huddle every morning. We receive our assignments as well as any important issues that need to be addressed. Coordination helps things run smoothly. When things run smoothly, we are better able to handle the stressful situations that arise throughout the day.
As a critical care nurse, coordinating my care through the day and collaborating with my coworkers with compassion, gives me the needed credibility to properly care for my patients. These 4 C’s discussed is something I will continue to work and incorporate daily as a nurse.