The Impact of Communication on Patient Safety in Nursing

This report investigates the crucial role of professional communication in nursing, emphasizing its impact on patient safety and care. It explores the significance of reflective practice, effective communication, and the development of therapeutic relationships. The report centers on a case study involving a 72-year-old patient, Eileen Murphy, who was admitted to the hospital with vomiting and diarrhea and is experiencing anxiety. The analysis links person-centered care, reflective practices, and effective communication to improve patient outcomes. The report highlights how effective communication and reflective practice contribute to a better therapeutic relationship between nurses and patients. The study uses the APHRA code of conduct in nursing. The report concludes by demonstrating how these elements contribute to a person-centered care plan, ultimately promoting patient safety and satisfaction. References are included to support the findings.

Running head: EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
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1EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
The paper aims for establishing the professional communication as an effective method in
case of ensuring the safety in patients in the field of nursing along with the importance of the
patient centered care and reflective in order to develop a therapeutic relationship with the patient.
The paper will be focusing on the case study of a 72 years old patient, named Eileen Murphy.
The patient was admitted in the hospital for vomiting and diarrhea. The paper will discuss the
use of the reflective practice in making professional communication in the nursing practice first
and then the use of both reflective practices and effective communication to develop a
therapeutic relationship with the patient. After that the person centered care will be linked with
the therapeutic relationship, reflective practices and the effective communication. Finally the
patient safety will be linked with all the above aspects.
The reflective practice is important in the nursing practice to make effective
communication in nursing. It has three elements, which are self-awareness, reflection and critical
thinking, which can be used properly to make an effective communication with the patient (Hall
& Glew, 2017). In order to make an effective and professional communication, a nurse must be
aware of what message they are delivering to the patient along with understanding the patient’s
perspective while making a conversation. The reflection and critical thinking involves using the
past experiences and knowledge to analyze the mental state of the patient and revert to them
accordingly. A nurse must remember to use every elements of a reflective practice in order to
make an effective communication.
Both an effective communication and the reflective practice in the nursing practice is
very important in order to promote a better patient care as per APHRA code of conduct in
nursing (www.ahpra.gov.au, 2020). Among all the benefits of these two aspects, the most
important one is the development of a proper therapeutic relationship between the nursing staff

2EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
and the patient. If the patient is communicated properly and the physical or emotional needs
associated with his or her health are attended properly, the patient is most likely to develop a
therapeutic relationship with the nursing staff, which involves trust in the both parties. A proper
therapeutic relationship between a nursing staff and the patient requires a high efficacy level in
making a proper communication, which in turn requires the reflective practice for its proper
delivery.
The person centered care is a care plan that involves goals that is specific, measurable,
achievable, have realistic approach along with having a timeline (Ross, Tod & Clarke, 2015). To
develop a person centered care plan the effective communication should be used to identify the
specific problem in the patient on which the care plan will focus on. The measurability,
achievable quality and whether the approach is realistic or not can be determined by using the
critical thinking and the other elements of the reflective practice. Setting the time frame for the
plan will require both the reflective approach and the consideration of the therapeutic
relationship with the patient. The therapeutic relationship will make it easier for the nursing staff
to balance the comfort level with the clinical requirement of the patient, when developing a care
plan for the patient.
It has been found from the studies that an effective communication along with the
reflective practice and proper therapeutic relationship prevents the adverse outcomes in the
patient, since the risks to the patient’s health can be predicted prior to its occurrence and hence
promoting the patient safety (Taylor, 2015). The practice of all those above aspects welcome a
better and more appropriate clinical assessment of the progress of the patient with his or her
health condition (Riley, 2015). It also invites a better patient satisfaction and lowered anxiety
level, which in turn results in a better and improved clinical outcome. The development of a

3EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
proper person centered care plan depend on the proper use of effective communication, reflective
practice and therapeutic relationship. The care plan not only focuses on addressing the present
needs of the patient’s health but also lowering any future risks in the patient, which can be
described as the promotion of the patient safety.
In the case scenario discussed above, the patient has been observed to be overly anxious.
She was concerned about the well-being of her pet dog. From the incidence of her sudden fall
while she was attempting to get up at night. It can be predicted that this drop attack she
experienced might be resulting from the continuous anxiety she is experiencing (Pyykkö et al.,
2017). The nursing staffs must make an attempt to communicate with the patient effectively in
order to understand exactly what aspects are bothering her and contributing to her increasing
anxiety. The patient must be communicated with a high level of efficacy that will ensure her
about the safety of her dog and which in turn will lower the level of anxiety in her. The patient
did not suffer any injury due to the drop attack experienced her last time. Though there is a high
risk of her experiencing a sustaining injury in case of a future instances of the same event due to
her vulnerability resulting from the anxiety. The goal of the person centered plan should be
specifically addressed at lowering the anxiety level in the patient in order to prevent future
instances of drop attacks in the patient. The measurement of the outcome can be done by using
various assessment tools to measure the level of anxiety. The goal can be considered achievable
since it does not require exceeded the physical or mental capacity of the patient. It is a realistic
approach for the achievement of the goal. The timeframe for this plan must be 1 week (Hall &
Glew, 2017).
Hence it can be concluded from the above discussion that the use of reflective practice is
very important in making an effective communication with the patient. Both reflective practice

4EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
and effective communication are important in developing the therapeutic relationship with the
patient and all of those aspects are important in developing a person centered care plan, which is
directed at the promotion of the patient safety in turn.
References:
ahpra.gov.au. (2020). Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency - Home. Retrieved 23
January 2020, from https://www.ahpra.gov.au/
Hall, H., & Glew, P. J. (2017). Introduction to nursing, midwifery and person-centred
care. Fundamentals of Nursing and Midwifery: A Person-Centred Approach to Care, 4-
19.https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:37582/
Levett Jones, T. (2020). Critical conversations for patient safety: an essential guide for healthcare
students. Patient safety and communication (pp.5-8,11)
Pyykkö, I., Manchaiah, V., Zou, J., Levo, H., & Kentala, E. (2017). Do patients with Méniere’s
disease have attacks of syncope?. Journal of neurology, 264(1), 48-54.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28321563
Riley, J. B. (2015). Communication in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.
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hl=en&lr=&id=SwndCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Riley,+J.+B.+(2015).
+Communication+in+nursing.
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0DY&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Riley%2C%20J.%20B.%20(2015).
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5EFFICACY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN NURSING
Ross, H., Tod, A. M., & Clarke, A. (2015). Understanding and achieving person‐centred care:
the nurse perspective. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(9-10), 1223-1233.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12662
Taylor, J. S. (2015). Improving patient safety and satisfaction with standardized bedside handoff
and walking rounds. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 19(4), 414.
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