The importance of efficient and productive interprofessional communication in a multidisciplinary team cannot be stressed enough. According to Al-Hamdan et al. (2018), “communication is one of the mechanisms that can specify how a positive nursing work environment can contribute to nurses’ job satisfaction” (p. 714). Nurses are the first line of interaction between the patient and the doctor, thus they are expected to develop a trusting relationship with the former that will expand onto the rest of the team. As Santos et al. (2018) also highlight, communication stands out among other competencies because interactions with patients and multidisciplinary teams are the center of nursing practice. In this essay, three different articles on various aspects of nursing communication will be reviewed, and the main arguments from each will be outlined and evaluated.
Article 1
Andre, B., Nost, T. H., Frigstad, S. A., & Sjovold, E. (2016). Differences in communication within the nursing group and with members of other professions at a hospital unit. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(7-8), 956-963.
Annotation
Multidisciplinary team have proved to be rather effective when it comes to patient treatment, thus, this approach has been implemented into the healthcare system. However, adoption of interprofessional collaboration methods led to the unexpected difficulties in communication, especially among nurses. The suspected reasons behind these difficulties include education misalignments, differences in traditions and connection building, as well as varied status and autonomy of team members (Andre et al. 2016). The study conducted by Andre et al. (2018) in form of a cross-sectional survey revealed that for nurses, it is easier and more comfortable to interact with each other than members of other departments.
The findings state that nurses possess the necessary skills to enhance the interprofessional communication and strengthen patient’s trust. Despite that, nurses often failed to reach the necessary empathy levels during communications with other team members who were not nurses, further compromising themselves. Mixed emotions and assertiveness influenced nurses’ behavior and led to difficulties in interpersonal communication. Moreover, they often experienced feelings of inadequacy and inferiority towards non-nursing members of multidisciplinary teams, which also complicated the communication process. Seeing as nurses hold the key position in the effective interprofessional collaboration, it is imperative to ensure that they possess and develop the necessary communication skills, as well as show more confident behavior.
The target audience of this study is nurses, as they remain the main element of efficient connection between multidisciplinary teams and patients. The study emphasizes the ultimate necessity of obtaining and developing the communication skills, and implementing them into clinical work.
Article 2
Song, H.-S., Choi, J. Y., & Son, Y.-J. (2017). The relationship between professional communication competences and nursing performance of Critical Care Nurses in South Korea. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 23(5).
Annotation
Effective communication can go many ways: it allows to build better relationships both with the patient and within the team, creates productive environment, and helps maintain interprofessional connections. However, there is another, unobvious advantage of competent communication – it can prevent burnout, especially in the critical care department. The study conducted by Song et al. (2017) reviews the correlation between high level of professional communication skills and actual nursing performance in the intensive care unit. According to Song et al. (2017), better competence at communication directly influences possible treatment outcome by allowing the nurses to improve their performance. The authors conducted an anonymous survey of the critical care nurses in South Korea, evaluating their performance and communication competence.
The results show that high levels of performance among nurses are strongly associated with the well-developed communication skills. Intensive care nurses are more prone to burnout, as they face numerous difficulties and are required to constantly interact with the patients’ families on top of their nursing duties. Confident communication and empathetic approach has proved to be rather important for nursing performance. As the study revealed, better professional communication correlates strongly with more advanced age, higher levels of education, as well as greater intensive care unit working experience. Thus, more extensive education and longer working time allow nurses to develop their communication capacities and became more effective in counselling. This study is most relevant for the critical care nurses, as it reflects on the specific aspects of their professional work, as well as addresses the issues of burnout and interactions with concerned families.
Article 3
Kirca, N., & Bademli, K. (2019). Relationship between communication skills and care behaviors of nurses. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 55(4), 624–631.
Annotation
Communication remains the point of great importance in the work of a nurse. Even if a nurse is naturally communicative, it is important that they are able to analyze their communication with patients and consciously use their skills to improve professional performance. Often the nurse’s communication with the patient occurs when the patient is upset, depressed, aggressive, or experiencing physical or psychological difficulties. Therefore, nurses require special knowledge and skills in order for communication to provide maximum assistance and support to patients. The study conducted by Kirca and Bademli (2019) provides succinct arguments in favor of continuous development of nurses’ communication skills, relating them directly to the quality of care. Modern healthcare reforms that operate within the framework of the empowerment of nursing staff make the ability to communicate effectively with the patient a prerequisite for their success.
The study discusses as to why is communication crucial for correct care behavior of the nurses. Findings show that an objective assessment of patient’s problems requires their active discussion and transformation into a part of the diagnostic and treatment process. Communication and care behavior combine into solidarity action, the purpose of which is to form effective and trusting connection with the patient. Despite that, the study revealed that more than a half of nurses who participated in the survey did not receive any communication skills training which indicates the need to improve existing training (Kirca and Bademi 2019). Although nurses are the primary audience of the research, it might be recommended for healthcare policymakers and training facilities, as it offers strong evidence of the changes that need to be made.
Recommendations for Practice
All three reviewed articles clearly outlined the crucial importance of effective interprofessional and overall communication in the nursing work. The authors of each article suggested that continuous training and education are a prerequisite for effective collaboration and building of meaningful nurse-patient relationship. Dittman and Hughes (2018) also state that efficient communication is especially imperative in intensive care units due to higher risks of mistakes. In case of a public emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemics, it becomes vital as it boosts the nurses’ willingness to provide care (Lord et al. 2021). Even the nursing units need to be designed in adherence to the communication needs and abilities of the participating nurses, as they often shape their behavioral patterns (Brewer et al. 2018). Sánchez Expósito et al. (2018) supply that nursing students often lack skills for communicating with terminally ill patients. In this regards, the study by Han and Lee (2017) shows that, for example, a communication skills enhancement program can be rather effective in improving the performance of nursing students. Thus, incorporating such programs and offering future medical professionals opportunities to improve their communication abilities becomes increasingly more essential for quality care.
References
Al‐Hamdan, Z., Banerjee, T., & Manojlovich, M. (2018). Communication with physicians as a mediator in the relationship between the nursing work environment and select nurse outcomes in Jordan. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 50(6), 714–721.
Brewer, B. B., Carley, K. M., Benham-Hutchins, M., Effken, J. A., & Reminga, J. (2018). Nursing unit design, nursing staff communication networks, and Patient Falls: Are they related? HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 11(4), 82–94.
Andre, B., Nost, T. H., Frigstad, S. A., & Sjovold, E. (2016). Differences in communication within the nursing group and with members of other professions at a hospital unit. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(7-8), 956-963.
Dittman, K., & Hughes, S. (2018). Increased nursing participation in multidisciplinary rounds to enhance communication, patient safety, and parent satisfaction. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 30(4).
Han, M., & Lee, K. (2017). Effects of communication ability enhancement program for nursing students in Korea: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education, 23(1), 15–26.
Kirca, N., & Bademli, K. (2019). Relationship between communication skills and care behaviors of nurses. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 55(4), 624–631.
Lord, H., Loveday, C., Moxham, L., & Fernandez, R. (2021). Effective communication is key to intensive care nurses’ willingness to provide nursing care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 62, 102946.
Santos, J. L., Copelli, F. H., Balsanelli, A. P., Sarat, C. N., Menegaz, J. do, Trotte, L. A., Stipp, M. A., & Soder, R. M. (2019). Interpersonal communication competence among nursing students. Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 27.
Song, H.-S., Choi, J. Y., & Son, Y.-J. (2017). The relationship between professional communication competences and nursing performance of Critical Care Nurses in South Korea. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 23(5).
Sánchez Expósito, J., Leal Costa, C., Díaz Agea, J. L., Carrillo Izquierdo, M. D., & Jiménez Rodríguez, D. (2018). Ensuring relational competency in critical care: Importance of nursing students’ communication skills. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 44, 85–91.