PLX Academy · Personal Experiences · 30 January 2023
A Nursing Central survey of thousands of U.S. nurses found that 95% of nurses felt burned out at the time of the survey or in the three years before it, and 91% were thinking about leaving or actively looking to leave the nursing profession. They are often overworked, stressed out, and put in dangerous situations. They need to be able to communicate well to help patients have a good experience and get better care and to keep their own health in check.
For nurses, good communication in healthcare means going into every interaction with a patient with the goal of understanding their worries, experiences, and thoughts. This means using both verbal and nonverbal communication skills, as well as techniques like active listening and patient teach-back.
What About the Nurse/Patient Relationship?
It is important for nurses to get to know their patients so that they can build trust, comfort, and mutual respect. When nurses build this kind of relationship with their patients and make sure they are honest and open, patients are more likely to talk to them and feel like they are respected and understood.
To build relationships with patients from different cultures, you need to be able to communicate well and understand other cultures. The overall quality of care is also improved by getting along well with the patient’s family and friends. Important people in a patient’s life are a big part of their care because they offer support and strength while they are being treated and getting better.
How Can Communication Affect the Health of Nurses?
In order to help others, nurses often forget about their own needs and well-being. This can lead to burnout and other mental and physical problems for them. It’s important to let coworkers, supervisors, family, and friends know what’s going on so they can help or stop it. Nurses can do their jobs well and still have time and energy for their own health and lives if they know how to talk to people. Researchers have found that nurses who go to trainings on communication are better at talking to patients, work better as a team, and take better care of their own health.