FUNDAMENTAL

S OF NURSING
COMMUNICATION
Vanessa T Artuz
Princess Anne Nicole Araza
Jan endre Magtagnob
 COMMUNICATION
Communication is a process in which people affect one another through exchange information,and feelings. It is a lifelong
learning process. Nurses make the intimate journey with patients and Communication is a processi in which people affect one
another through exchange of information, their families from the miracle of birth to the mystery of death.

nurses communicate with patients and families to develop meaningful relationship,within those relationship, the nurse collects
relevant assessment data, provide patient education,and interact during nursing interventions.
 LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Intrapersonal communication
2. Interpersonal communication
3. Small group communication
4. Public communication
5. Electron communication
 MODES OR FORMS
OF COMMUNICATION

Verbal Communication
It pertains to a communicative form of dialogue or discourse in both oral or written modes that
conveys meaning. It has two primary aspects.
1.vocabulary. in the nursing profession , the use of medical vocabularies are frequent.
2.Connotations and Denotations. Connotations refers to words and phrases with symbolic
meanings. Whereas denotations contain words with literal meanings.
 MODES OR FORMS
OF COMMUNICATION

Non-Verbal Communication
It is a form of communications that requires no utterance of any words, rather purr symbolic
gestures through bodily movements. Examples of such are hand waves during greetings and
hand shakes for conveying positive regards. None-Verbal communication may supplement
verbal communication through the action-oriented demonstrations bodily gestures may
portray.
 THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION
TECHNIQUES
Therapeutic communication techniques are specific responses that
encourage the expression of Feelings and ideas and convey acceptance
and respect. Still and comfort with using the techniques increase with
consistent practice.

Tremendous satisfaction results from developing therapeutic relationships

that achieve desired patient outcome
 1.Active Listening-Is being attentive to what a patient is saying both verbally and
nonverbally. Active listening enhances trust because the nurse communicates
acceptance and respect for a patient

2. Sharing Observations-Nurses make observations by commenting on how the other

person looks, sounds, or acts. Stating observations often helps a patient
communicate without the need
3.Sharing Empathy -Sharing empathy is the ability to understand and accept another
person's reality, accurately perceive feelings, and communicate this understanding
to the other
4.Sharing Hope-Nurses recognize that hope is essential for healing and learn to
communicate a "sense of possibility" to others
5. Sharing Humor-Human is an important but often underused resource in nursing
interactions. It is a coping strategy that can reduce anxiety and promote positive
feelings
6.Using Touch-Touch is one of the most potent and personal forms of
communication. It express concern or caring to establish a feeling of connection
and promote healing
7.Using silence-Silence prompts some people to talk. It allows a patient to
think and gain insight (Stuart, 2013). In general, allow the patient to break
the silence,
 8.Providing information-providing relevant information tells other
people what they need or want to know so they are able to make
decisions, experience less anxiety, and feel safe and secure.

9.Clarifying- To check whether one understand a passage accurately,

restate an unclear or ambiguous message to clarify the sender’s
-
meaning

10. Focusing - Focusing involves centering a conversation on key

elements or concepts of a message
 NONTHERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION

Nontherapeutic techniques discourage further expression of feelings

and ideas and engender negative responses or behaviors in others.

EX:
1.Asking personal question
2.Giving personal opinion
3.Changing the subject
4. Automatic response
5. Sympathy
 HELPING RELATIONSHIP

A helping relationship is the foundation of effective nurse-patient

communication. It is built on trust, acceptance, and understanding.

Phases of the helping relationship

1.Preinteraction phase
2.Orientation phase
3.working phase
4. Termination phase
 COMMUNICATION
THROUGHOUT
THE NURSING PROCESS

The nursing process provides a clinical decision-making approach for

nurses to develop and implement an individualized plan of care. It
guides care for patients who need special assistance with
communication.

Therapeutic communication is a fundamental component in all phases

of the nursing process, and for establishing effective nurse-patient
relationship.

Effective nurse-patient relationship is a helping relationship which is

growth-facilitating and provides, support, comfort, and hope.
A. ASSESSMENT
✓ Verbal interviewing and history taking
✓ Visual and intuitive observation of nonverbal behavior.
✓ Written medical records, diagnostic tests and literature
review.
Discussions:
• Physical and Emotional Factors
- Hearing or vision loss makes it hard to understand messages.
- Face injuries, throat cancer, or breathing tubes can prevent clear speech.
- Severe breathlessness requires oxygen, making speech impossible.
- Stroke or advanced Alzheimer's can cause aphasia.
- Mental illness (psychosis, depression) can cause rambling speech or
repetition.
- High anxiety can make it hard to focus or understand.
- Unconscious or sedated patients can't communicate verbally..
• Developmental Factors
- An infant's self-expression is limited to crying, body movement, and facial
expression, whereas older children express their needs more directly. Adapt
communication techniques to the special needs of infants and children and their
parents.
- Children are especially responsive to nonverbal messages, sudden movements, loud
noises, or threatening gestures are frightening.
- Among older adults, hearing loss and visual impairments are changes that may
occur, that contribute to communication barriers.

• Sociocultural Factors
- Culture influences thinking, feeling, behaving, and communicating. The nurse must
be aware of the typical patterns of interaction that characterize various ethnic groups.
But the nurse should not allow this information to bias his or her responses.
- Some factors that may vary among cultures are: eye contact, touch, personal space,
gestures, loud voice, pace of speech, silence, and meaning of words.

• Gender
- Men often communicate less verbally but are more direct and likely to initiate
conversations.
- Women tend to share more personal information and actively listen, encouraging
others to talk.
B. DIAGNOSIS
✓ The primary nursing diagnostic label used to describe a patient with limited or no ability
to communicate verbally is: "Impaired Verbal Communication". This is the state in which an
individual experiences a decreased, delayed, or absent ability to receive, process, transmit,
and use symbols for a variety of reasons.
✓ Although a patient's primary problem is "Impaired Verbal Communication", the
associated difficulty in self-expression or altered communication patterns may also contribute
to other nursing diagnoses such as; Anxiety, Social Isolation, Powerlessness, Impaired Social
Interaction, and Ineffective Coping.
✓ The related factors for "Impaired Verbal Communication" focus on the causes of a
communication disorder. These are physiological, anatomical, psychological, cultural or
developmental in nature.
Examples:
- Impaired Verbal Communication related to hearing loss
- Impaired Verbal Communication related to surgical removal of larynx
- Impaired Verbal Communication related to presence of tracheostomy tub
C. PLANNING
✓ It is especially important to involve the patient and the family in decisions about the plan of care to
determine whether suggested methods are acceptable.

1. Goals and Outcomes

✓ The goal must be relevant and achievable.
✓ Expected outcomes must be very specific and measurable.
Examples:
- Patient initiates conversation about diagnosis or health care problem.
- Patient conveys clear and understandable messages with healthcare team.

2. Setting Priorities
✓ It is essential to always maintain an open line of communication so a patient is able to express emergent
needs or problems.

3. Teamwork and Collaboration

✓ To ensure an effective plan of care, the nurse sometimes need to collaborate with other healthcare team
members who have expertise in communication strategies.

D. IMPLEMENTATION
✓ In carrying out any plan of care, the nurse uses communication techniques that are appropriate for a
patient's individual needs.

E. EVALUATION
✓ Initially, the nurse may evaluate the effectiveness of her communication by videotaping practice sessions
with peers or by making process recordings written records of the nurse's verbal and nonverbal interactions
with patients.