The Joint Commission (2014) identified communication errors as the fourth highest root cause of sentinel events from 2004 through the second quarter of 2014. In order for nurses to be effective in their dynamic roles, they must be effective communicators with an array of interdisciplinary healthcare team members, patients and families (CCN, 2014). Communication can be frustrating, leading to pertinent information not relayed, resulting in the rise of potential errors and poor patient outcomes. Have you ever been frustrated when communicating with a physician, giving shift report, or consulting the physical therapist? To reduce frustration and potential errors and increase patient safety and outcomes, nurses must also be efficient in their communication style. The communication model, SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation), becomes an invaluable communication resource, when adopted and implemented by the facility and all healthcare team members are trained…
I am currently studying the Bachelor of Health Sciences Degree to gain a competitive grade point average (GPA) to get an internal transfer into the Bachelor of Paramedic Science Degree and become a paramedic. Paramedic are health care professionals known as pre-hospital team leaders who provide out of hospital care to patients (Health care Act (SA), 2018). They respond rapidly to emergency and assess patient and provide medical services and care for the patient until hospital arrival. Paramedic are employed by the ambulance services, govern and organisations and hospitals. For the purpose of this essay the focus will be on both paramedic and triage nurse and will analyse the collaborative work as an interdisciplinary team within the emergency department.…
(2014, p.259) Explains that poor communication and handover contribute to adverse outcomes for the patient. This is epitomised in the poor inter-professional communication skills of RN Jarrett, where her failure to speak up and clearly deliver an accurate handover of the patient’s deteriorating condition in order to promptly escalate care (Garon, 2011, p.361) and failure to notify the doctor of the subsequent fall and GCS of 6 until he arrived in the morning (HCCC v Jarret, 2013, 49-50, 68) could have contributed to the patients adverse outcomes. Furthermore, RN Jarrett and the other nurses did not demonstrate adequate written communication skills, shown by the lack of documentation and records of tasks, events, observations, vital signs and GCS scores obtained during the shift. Inadequate records make it extremely difficult for health care professionals to recognise the deteriorating patient, and poor communication contributes to a failure in the application of adequate skills and knowledge to care for the deteriorating patient (Tower & Chaboyer, 2013, p.1406; HCCC v Jarret, 2013,…
The purpose of the policy is to provide an interactive dialogue that allows for up-to-date information on the patient’s care. The policy is referenced to the Joint Commission-mandated focus on improving patient safety through effective caregiver communication. According to the Joint Commission, as estimated 80% of serious medical errors are attributable to miscommunication between caregivers when transferring responsibly for patients (Wakefield, Ragan, Brandt & Tregnago, 2012). Shift report happens two, three, or more times in a day, but nurses receive little formal training in this vital responsibility. Nurses may be found legally liable for failing to report necessary information during handoffs (Riesenberg, Leitzsch, & Cunningham, 2010). Therefore, it is imperative for a handoff procedure incorporate an effective way to communicate in order to provide safe patient care.…
Traditionally nurses delivered clinical information about the patient, the clinical events on their shift and the plan of care to the oncoming shift to ensure continuity of care and to make sure that their colleagues were informed about tasks or instructions that needed to be completed by the next shift. This process had a variety of names; report, handover or handoff. The format was often different from unit to unit. It usually took place in an off stage room or office or at a charting station from away from the patients. This project aimed to assess if moving nurse to nurse handover to the patient’s bedside could promote safety and decease the length of time that it took to complete the process. The study was designed to evaluate if moving shift handover to the patient’s bedside could lead to more cost effective care and if by reducing the amount of time that nurse were away from the bedside during handover could result in improved patient safety.…
Sometimes it is something that we can predict. Other times the crisis happens upon us suddenly and without warning. In departments such as the Emergency Department (ED), crisis can generally be expected and the ED staff can safely believe that there will be a crisis during their shift. The outcome of the crisis can depend on how it is approached and dealt with. A patient’s rapid deterioration of their state of health or arrest in front of the family is a common crisis situation that occurs where I work. This puts the staff as well as the patient and patient’s family in crisis mode. I feel that my job as the patient’s nurse is to make sure that the situation flows as efficiently as possible. Crisis communication needs to be initiated immediately. My verbal and nonverbal communication can affect the situation. I also need to pick up on the verbal and nonverbal cues of the family. It is also important to collaborate with the team, listen to both staff and families and communicate in a professional manor. Active listening is a prominent quality of a leader, along with how they lead the team. A positive approach is always best while maintaining clear and concise communication. There are times when it is necessary to use assertive communication. This is true when dealing with a difficult person, staff or family member. The nurse needs to be a leader, professional and assertive in order to…
It is widely known that expectant mothers who utilise prenatal care, a more likely to have a normal and succesfgul pregnancy resulting im positive health outcomes for both mother and child. This also accounts for a decline in post natal depression rates as mothers have support from nurses throughout and after pregancy…
My introduction to emergency room nursing was during my senior year as a nursing student, as a patient care technician. Even though some days were trying and there was a lot of learning to be had, I almost immediately knew this is where I belonged. I have continued my career in the emergency department, where I have been working as a registered nurse for 5 years. During my career I have performed in many different roles, including patient care technician, new graduate nurse, staff nurse, triage nurse, preceptor and mentor for students and new employees, and even the role of charge nurse. The challenges of working in a high volume emergency department, caring for a diverse and complex patient population have been abundant. Emergency nursing is my passion and I am driven by the opportunity to expand my knowledge base and nursing practice.…
Handoff and transitions are an integral component of nurse to nurse communications during a shift. The information gathered within the scope of a handoff is incorporated into the patient’s plan of care for that day, and helps to facilitate multi-level team collaboration which also utilizes this information. Currently there is an estimated, “80 percent of medical errors are due to communication failure during the handoff process”(Robins & Dai, 2015, p. 264). The purpose of this quality improvement project is to increase the education of nursing staff in the critical care setting, to streamline the delivery of handoffs, as well as the implementation of a standardized checklist-based handoff tool that will narrow the gap in communication breaches.…
The purpose of this of this experimental study “Investigate transfer of information at nursing handover” (Boyd, Cumin, Devcich, & Lee, 2015, p. 161) is clear and concise. The dependent variable of this study is the nurse’s confidence in the truth of information and independent variables is the way the information is presented. The sample population is clearly defined, and the result “ adds to the literature because it is one of very few studies done using an experimental design to investigate nursing handover” (Boyd et al., 2015, p. 165).…
Currently I am a senior level 4 nursing student. With being a nursing student it requires many communication skills verbal and non-verbal. Various classes in the communication curriculum would be very beneficial to my major. For example, COMM 1018 interpersonal communication would be very helpful because with this class I would learn communication skills such as; looking for detailed feelings and face-to-face non-verbal and verbal cues. Having the knowledge that I have now if I would have taking communication classes earlier I may have had a better experience understanding the signs of pain that patients gave me without actually telling me.…
In the health and social care setting, two types of communication take place in one-to-one and group communication. These are formal and informal communication. You may take part in a few one–to–one situations. This may be with staff and staff, staff with patients and staff with the patient family. Also as staff you may find yourself in group situation with the patient and a number of the patient’s family members. The usual form of language in a group conversation if formal but in formal is also used as well depending on the circumstance. There are a number of factors that influence effective communication within both one-to-one interactions and group interactions. These are formal, informal, verbal, and non-verbal skills.…
McCabe C. (2004) Nurse–patient communication: an exploration of patients’ experiences. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 13: 41–49.…
Communication provides a means for people to connect to each other and provides a bridge so that we can share information, signals, or messages between us (Giger, 2013). In the healthcare setting it is imperative that the communication between patient and provider be exchanged quickly, accurately and effectivity. One of the most demanding situations for members of a linguistic team is assisting the conversation between the healthcare professional and the patient (Issacs, Laurier, Turner, & Segalowitz, 2011).…
This assignment will reflect on the effectiveness of my clinical and interpersonal skills in relation to my position as a nurse in a busy critical care unit. It will primarily focus on one particular patient and the care they received by myself in their immediate post operative period. In accordance with the NMC’s code of professional conduct names will not be used to protect the patient’s confidentiality. NMC (2008).…