Maintaining Academic Integrity

Effective Communication and Collaboration Skills in Professional

Classmate: Reply

Yesterday Jul 24 at 10:13pm

Building Communication and Collaboration Skills

The ability to communicate effectively is an absolute necessity in the field of nursing. Good communication is key to adequately function in all areas of life and without it, important details may be missed or go unnoticed. The importance of proper communication goes a step further in the nursing world as patients’ lives can be directly impacted by the strength of the communication between nursing professionals, to interdisciplinary team members, and to their patients. “Nursing is a profession of collaboration and comradery, yet the skills needed to effectively communicate are not taught in the classroom and are an expectation on nursing units” (Roman & Pineiro, 2023, para. 17). While communication skills may grow over time with experience, it is always essential to be cognizant of areas where improvement may be indicated.

Gaining insight into your own communication skills is an approach to help ensure that the appropriate information is conveyed in the most appropriate way. While both verbal and nonverbal methods can be used, the importance of the message being clear, concise, and thoroughly understood should not be overlooked. In my role as a case manager, I am responsible for performing a considerable amount of patient education for various subjects. I have found that the most useful tool to evaluate my communication with my patients is the teach-back method. The teach-back method consists of having my patient teach the material that I taught them back to me so that I can assess their level of understanding. This method helps me to determine if I have given enough detail and instruction on the subject as well as if I have presented the information in such a way that my audience is able to understand. There are several times when the delivery of my message must be altered to meet the needs of my receiver. “Adapting education and communication based on the patient’s preference is a foundation of PCC” (Masters, 2020, p. 268). In addition to communicating with my patients, I also communicate frequently with other interdisciplinary team members. The more my comfort and confidence levels have grown in my role, the more my communication skills have also grown as I have a better understanding of what needs are to be communicated with specific team members. The most significant resource that helped me in the beginning and continues to help me strengthen my communication skills is my wonderful team. My coworkers have trained and assisted me with proper note structure, important information to report in clinical meetings, and which methods of communication are most suitable for individual situations. I am very fortunate to work in an environment that is conducive to learning with multiple opportunities for feedback that range from praises to constructive criticism. In my previous role as an ICU bedside nurse, I found templates such as the SBAR method to be the most beneficial tool for communicating all necessary patient information to the oncoming shift. The nurses’ role in interprofessional collaboration is often one of the most important and influential as we are the eyes and ears for our patients. Nurses tend to hone in on the details of an assessment or clinical picture of a patient and they will then communicate those findings to the rest of the team. As nurses, it is our duty to be the best advocate for our patients and to communicate on their behalf in a holistic manner. Nurses are experts at utilizing strong critical thinking skills to identify priority needs for a patient and to communicate those needs with respective team members. I find these communication skills to be most important in my practice because I want to always make sure I am providing the best possible care for my patients and their families. Paying close attention to detail and conveying 

accordingly can mean the difference between life and death for a patient. I believe in doing everything in my power to make sure that my patients’ wishes are honored and that they are looked at as a whole person rather than just a diagnosis. Nurses are in charge of continuously looking for ways to strengthen their communicative abilities to promote positive patient outcomes (Masters, 2020).

 

References:

Masters, K. (2020). Role development in professional nursing practice (5 th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Roman, A., & Pineiro, A. (2023). Nursing communication skills training. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 39(4), E86-E92. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000868.