Effective communication is the foundation

Effective communication is the foundation of any healthcare team. Poor or absent communication among health care professionals can negatively impact patient care and lead to situations where medical errors can occur. According to Webster’s Dictionary, communication “is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.” Understanding the role of physicians, dieticians, and other health care professionals will promote awareness of each others’ type of knowledge and skills, resulting in improved decision making in regards to patient care. Research has shown that lack of communication and collaboration may be responsible for as much as 70 % of the adverse events currently reported (Fewster-Thuente, 2008). In regards to the nursing profession, communication should be clear and professional in order for it to be effective. When providing patient care, we must not only communicate with them and their families, but also we should involve all the departments within the hospital. In July 2002, the Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners approved the 2003 national Patient Safety Goals. According to JCAHO, this goal was meant to improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers. For example, any nurse receiving a verbal or telephone orders must “read back” the entire order and get verification prior to the order being complete (Joint Commission, 2002).
In order to promote excellent communication, I would rephrase the information as a way to verify that I understood what was relayed to me. Sometimes, we tend to assume others understand or are embarrassed to clarify and ask questions. Nurses need to be assertive and make sure that the information being given to healthcare teams is clear and not open to individual interpretation.