Assignment on Effective Nurse Patient Communication

Running head: EFFECTIVE NURSE PATIENT COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE NURSE PATIENT COMMUNICATION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

EFFECTIVE NURSE PATIENT COMMUNICATION1
Introduction:
Effective communication between the nurse and patient can be considered as one of
the key foundations of a standard nursing practice. The use of effective communication in
nursing not only ensures a high quality and patient centred care, it also ensures patient safety.
The aspect also helps in the development of an effective therapeutic relationship between a
nurse and the patient. Thus the effective communication can be considered as one of the most
important components in nursing practice. The paper will include a discussion of the case
study of 73-year-old George Pham to explain the importance of effective communication in
nursing in the context of the person centred care, verbal and non-verbal communication and
effective documentation.
Discussion:
Verbal and Non-verbal Communication:
There are two modes of communication that can be used either separately or together
to carry out an effective communication. Studies have found the non-verbal mode of
communication to be equally important as the verbal communication in nursing practice
(Schrage et al., 2020). The non-verbal communication is not used for the physically impaired
patients only, this mode of communication is applicable for all the patients. This type of
communication include maintenance of a calm and relax appearance in front of the patient,
maintenance of an appropriate distance with the patient and occasional application of gentle
touch to comfort the patient upon assessing the requirement and comfort level of the patient.
The verbal communication involves maintaining a compassionate attitude when listening to
the patient, along with being respectful towards the patient all through the communication
(Machiels et al., 2017). The principal aim of an effective and professional communication is
to ensure a quality care by appropriate assessment of the patient’s requirement and timely

EFFECTIVE NURSE PATIENT COMMUNICATION2
attainment addressing those requirements (Glew, 2016). Verbal and non-verbal
communication is just another tool for ensuring quality care.
In this case study, the patient George Pham wishes for improving his health by
adopting healthy lifestyles. The registered nurse (RN) should maintain a calm posture along
with a respectful manner towards the patient all through the communication. The patient will
feel comfortable for sharing his personal information with the RN, which will be helpful for
her to develop a care plan for the patient based on the patient’s requirements.
Patient Centred Care:
Patient centred care is another important component for ensuring a proper quality
care. A patient centred care approach focuses on a single patient in an attempt to assess the
unique requirements of the patient (Hill, Hall & Glew, 2016). An effective communication
between a nurse and the patient ensures that there is an appropriate identification of the
patient’s requirements (Sibiya, 2018). An appropriate therapeutic relationship is a result of
the effective communication and it encourages the patient to share all the appropriate
information regarding his health with the nursing staff, without holding anything back. The
ability of a patient to trust a nursing staff is an indicator of an effective therapeutic
relationship between a nurse and patient (Arnold & Boggs, 2019). The practice also promotes
the patient safety since the nurse is able to predict the potential health risk in the patient prior
to its actual occurrence (Levett-Jones, 2014). Thus adopting a timely action plan to prevent
that adverse condition in the patient also becomes possible. The person centred care approach
thus effectively promotes a high quality of care, which is possible only if the communication
between a nurse and the patient is sufficiently effective (Liu, Gerdtz & Manias, 2016).
The patient George Pham did not display any significant sign and symptom for any
disease, except a slightly high blood pressure. Thus without an effective communication