Why Is It Important To Use Effective Communication Skills In Nursing

Candidate number : 11070757
Diagnostic essay : Explain the importance of effective communication skills in nursing
Word Count: 905

It is vital that nurses use effective communication in their work as their main role is to care for vulnerable individuals who can sometimes need the reassurance of a professional body at there time of need. Certain individuals can feel scared and lonely whilst in hospital and with the listening skills of a nurse they can have a sense of belonging as they feel that someone understands and respects how they feel. Nurses use there communication skills everyday in their work, verbally and non verbally. As part of their non verbal skills they use touch, which is a very effective skill for a nurse
as it can make a patient aware of what is happening.
Bernard and Morrison (1997) argued that caring and communicating are inseparably linked. nurses have to care about somebody they are working with in order to communicate effectively. they also need to understand the person and provide emotional support.
For a disorientated patient a simple touch can give them a sense of security. A nurse will verbally explain a condition to a patient using very little jargon so patients understand their illness and feel comfortable. Jargon affects the communication cycle and can lead the patient to feel stressed and confused putting more strain on the nurse making by their job harder because the patient may become withdrawn and upset. This then breaks the cycle of communication which is why nurses must make eye contact with patients with a happy face and open body posture making patients more relaxed enabling them to communicate back with any problems they might have.
Patients may not have the confidence to ask questions if they do not understand what is wrong, in order for the nurse to know if they understand they use paraphrasing.
the nurse takes in what is said and may repeat it to the client to make sure they understood right in what they were saying so the service user understands so there is no confusion. This is very important as a patient might not fully understand when giving consent to a certain treatment. Nurses must also use reflection listening as they also need to understand as patient reflect their feelings in their words. Carl Rogers (1951) founded reflective listening and stated that it is a client centred approach used in care settings to help patients involved in practice. the patient is able to talk freely whilst the nurse not only listens but understands focusing on the main problem in order to give the best possible care
available.
I feel it is important that nurses smile at patients as it can make them feel at ease and it gives them a sense of friendship, this forms trust which gives nurses the opportunity to act as an advocate for vulnerable patients.
They also need to have a good understanding of the patients needs and want to communicate with other members of multi disciplinary team. Within the client centred therapy the interpersonal interaction reflective listening a rapport is formed between the patient and nurse this is because they are on the same wave length as each other as they understand how each other is feeling. Nurses use empathy to completely understand how their patients feel.
For a client with a hearing disability they communicate a lot through facial expression, body language and lip reading. A nurse 's body language is used as a great part of communicating and more with individuals who are deaf as they can understand emotions and feelings through this as it can be used in hospitals whilst being consulted. This is why nurses body language must always be open and positive as it could confuse individuals.
As nurses also work as part of a team with colleagues using formal effective communication not only informal. A good nurse will know when to use these skills
effectively.
“Nurses and nursing staff are at the heart of the communication process: they assess, record and report on treatment and care, handle information sensitively and confidentially, deal with complaints effectively, and are conscientious in reporting they are concerned about.” (A. Casey, 2011)
As this is important nurses need the important use of written communication as they often write letters, email and text. This is important as nurses communicate with other nurses and doctors as they leave important notes about what they have done or what needs to be down to a patient. Nurses can also make an entry into a patients notes if an incident has occurred this can help other parts of the multi disciplinary such as psychologists with the past of a certain individual as nurses are monitoring patients. This is also important when patients are handed over to other nurses it requires good communicating and co ordination. With the right information being communicated between the team it allows patients to be kept confidential and safe.
Communication is important for the safety of others. If communication isn’t correct in all documentation it can result in a problem between the multi disciplinary team and it could also give harm to patients and staff. It can also make a patient aggressive, nursing communication skills are important here as they must keep their body language calm at all times and their non verbal signs must be also relaxed. Nurses need to be aware of a build up of tension in order to defuse it. If a nurse can remain calm their own behaviour can influence onto another.

Bibliography
Burnard, Morrison. (2010). Developing effective communication in health and social care. Oxford: Edexcel.
Daniels, V. (1984). Being and caring: a psychology for living. London.
Casey, A, Wallis, A. (2011). Effective communication : Principle of nursing practice. Nursing Standard. London.