Interpersonal communication between the patient and a therapeutic team is critical for successful treatment and positive health outcomes. Effective interpersonal communication enables patients to feel valued in clinical procedures and decision-making. It encourages patients to develop trust and security in the medical personnel (Kaur, 2020). The nursing profession requires competency and interpersonal communication skills to deliver efficient care. Communication occurs through exchanging information, using non-verbal signals, and showing empathy, facial expressions, and appearance. Selecting the appropriate communication means ensures that nurses establish therapeutic contact with their patients and allow patients to express their concerns and opinions (Wittenberg et al., 2018). This paper explores the relevance of interpersonal communication in nursing.
Effective communication in healthcare is crucial in all areas, including patient care, disease prevention, therapy, treatment, education, health promotion, and rehabilitation. Interpersonal communication plays a substantial role throughout the healthcare experience, and the primary responsibility is upon nurses. As a result, good communication in nursing is critical to nursing. Healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, deliver care mainly through dialogue that involves non-verbal communication and verbal communication skills. Nurse-patient communication persists throughout care duration and often involves empathy and emotion. Communication quality between patient and nurse is an influential element in enhancing patient care. Research demonstrates that effective care is achieved through effective nurse-patient communication and relationship (Wittenberg et al., 2018). Effective communication improves patients’ satisfaction and independence and protects them from negative health consequences from poor communication, including medication errors.
Interpersonal communication enables nurses to understand patients’ needs, conditions, and emotions. Nurses are the primary caregivers from triage and throughout patient treatment and discharge or release. They examine and work towards understanding a patient’s condition. In every case, nurses demonstrate interpersonal communication to provide excellent care. Since nurses spend most of their time with patients, interpersonal communication is crucial for understanding their patient’s emotional well-being. It ensures that they provide deeper individual care, essential for patients’ long-term health. Nurses who understand the patient’s concerns and unique challenges are better prepared for patient advocacy and appropriately address any arising issues (Kaur, 2020). Furthermore, patients who receive a nurse’s attention during interactions easily disclose their symptoms and feelings since they feel more satisfaction when the nurse offers them their undivided attention. Understanding a patient’s emotional well-being also helps make appropriate treatment plans, care protocol implementation, and a positive health outcome (Wittenberg et al., 2018).
Besides understanding patients’ needs and emotions, interpersonal communication enables nurses to understand patients’ social determinants of health. These include environmental, physical, and social conditions in a patient’s life that may contribute to their overall health conditions. In this case, effective communication can help the nurse understand the potential social determinants that may increase the patient’s wellness and health and social factors that should be considered during treatment. For example, a patient may have a chronic illness that may result from factors such as homelessness and poverty. Through effective communication, nurses can identify such factors and consider them during the intervention and treatment of the patient to meet their needs. Moreover, providing emotional support through communication is essential in quality care delivery. Providing emotional support encourages further emotional discussion in patient-nurse settings, thus, eliciting clinically relevant information and fostering the nurse-patient relationship (Hafskjold et al., 2017). According to Hafskjold et al. (2017), nurses can influence patients’ negative and positive emotions based on the nature of their communication.
In addition, effective interpersonal communication in nursing helps nurses track any changes in care. Understanding the concerns and needs of patients enables nurses to channel their clinical strategies and communication toward individual patient preferences. Healthcare professionals can understand their patients’ treatment and intervention preferences through a solid patient-nurse relationship from effective communication. Through continuous communication, nurses can regularly track their patients’ progress and determine any required changes in care to ensure positive progress. Similarly, when nurses demonstrate empathy, awareness of emotions, and check on their patients frequently, they can help minimize potential emotional and physical distress (Terrill et al., 2018). Nurses can also identify patients’ specialized needs through continuous interpersonal communication. For instance, a patient may have other needs besides medical care, such as specific religious beliefs, traditional beliefs, or a specialized diet. In this case, nurses can ensure that such information is given to the people in charge to avoid compromising care quality and ensure that the patient’s needs are met (Terrill et al., 2018).
Moreover, interpersonal communication in healthcare is vital in advocating for patients. Patient advocacy involves effective communication and a therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the patient. Therefore, a nurse becomes an informer and an advocate who stands by the patient, playing a crucial role in decision-making and helping the patient make their own medical decisions. As an advocate, the nurse bridges any existing or potential communication gaps between other healthcare professionals, the healthcare system, and the patient (Hafskjold et al., 2017). Through interpersonal communication, nurses can also recognize patients’ worries and distress and help them escape fears, encouraging a better patient experience. Nurses provide assistance and reassurance for patients. For example, they explain to patients their diagnoses, urge patients to take their prescribed medications, and recommend following the treatment plan. Besides, nurses also follow up with physicians for critical information, such as lab results.
Positive emotion also helps build quality relationships. Due to the intensive nature of patient care, especially those in critical care, such as home hospice, patients, families, and nurses develop relationships based on trust and support that enable patients and their caregivers to navigate care (Terrill et al., 2018). Positive emotion is a shared experience often communicated verbally and fosters the nurse-patient relationship. For example, sharing emotion-based stories through positive framing and humor helps build meaningful bonds between families and caregivers and helps with coping. Furthermore, according to Terrill et al. (2018), employing positive emotional words promotes better health outcomes.
Conclusion
Communication between patients and nurses involves providing essential information, sharing feelings, and discussing vital information regarding prognosis, illness, and treatment. Interpersonal communication is key to healthcare interactions and helps in relationship building. It also influences patient satisfaction and enhances their overall experiences and well-being. Quality nurse-patient relationships that involve support and trust are crucial and contribute to improved care. Positive emotions are also essential in providing support and building a solid connection during care. Nurses are key healthcare professionals in ensuring positive interaction and allowing patients to share their emotions and concerns. Nurse communication encompasses a compassionate approach, clinical expertise, and active listening, among other factors that support patients’ emotional needs and health. As a result, providing them with appropriate skills and knowledge can help improve overall healthcare and care delivery. Achieving patient satisfaction requires good interpersonal skills, continuing education, training, and understanding of patient needs.
References
Hafskjold, L., Sundling, V., Van Dulmen, S., & Eide, H. (2017). The use of supportive communication when responding to older people’s emotional distress in-home care – An observational study. BMC Nursing, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-017-0220-8
Kaur, B. (2020). Interpersonal communications in nursing practice-Key to Quality Health care. Archives of Nursing Practice and Care, 6(1), 019-022.
Terrill, A. L., Ellington, L., John, K. K., Latimer, S., Xu, J., Reblin, M., & Clayton, M. F. (2018). Positive emotion communication: Fostering well-being at end of life. Patient Education and Counseling, 101(4), 631-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2017.11.018
Wittenberg, E., Reb, A., & Kanter, E. (2018). Communicating with patients and families around difficult topics in cancer care using the comfort communication curriculum. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 34(3), 264-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2018.06.007
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