Therapeutic Communication Skills, Patient-Centered Care, and Barriers

This essay delves into the critical role of therapeutic communication skills in nursing practice, emphasizing their importance for establishing effective patient-centered care. It explores the core skills necessary for fostering positive patient-nurse relationships and creating a safe and supportive environment. The essay examines the concept of person-centered care, highlighting how therapeutic communication facilitates patient involvement and respects individual needs and values. It identifies various barriers to effective communication within healthcare settings, such as workload pressures and the use of technical jargon, and discusses the impact of these barriers on patient outcomes. Furthermore, the essay underscores the significance of interprofessional collaboration in delivering quality patient care, outlining communication strategies to enhance teamwork and improve patient satisfaction. The content covers essential aspects of communication in nursing, focusing on skills, barriers, and collaborative approaches to improve patient care.

Running Head: THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Therapeutic communications skills
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THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS 2
Therapeutic communication skills
Introduction
Communication is described as the process of conveying or information to each other
using actions, words or by writing the information down to be read by another person.
Communication is something that everybody does at some point every day, and is a vital aspect
of life particularly in a working environment (Candlin & Sarangi, 2011). The idea of
communication is a significant aspect of every profession and is needed to maintain and foster
effective and healthy interactions. Within the context of nursing practice and healthcare, one of
the most significant attributes is the creation of a healthy therapeutic interaction among the
patient, staff and the nurse. The ways and means in which patients and nursing staff relate can be
influential in terms of provision of physical and psychological support (Maloney & Griffith,
2013). Thus, there is a need to understand the relationship between therapeutic communication
skills and the interprofessional collaboration practice which are vital necessities in the field of
nursing. The paper will discuss the core therapeutic communication skills needed to realize
patient-centred care as well as the safe nursing practice. The paper will also examine and identify
barriers to effective communication in healthcare. Lastly, the paper will discuss the role of
interprofessional collaboration practice in the delivery of patient centered care and the
communication strategies which can be used to enhance the interprofessional collaboration
practice as well as patient centered care.
Therapeutic communication skills and person-centered care
As the healthcare system is gradually shifting toward the use of mobile and internet
interventions for enhancing wellness and health, there are particular chronic conditions which are

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likely to benefit from personal, face-face relationship between the nurse and patient (Tian et al.
2014). A therapeutic interpersonal relationship is described as one in which is perceived by the
patients to entail supportive and caring nonjudgmental behavior, engraved in a safe working
environment during a stressful period. The relationship sometimes lasts for a short moment or
can continue for an extended time (West & Starnes, 2018). Person-centered care can be defined
as recognizing the patient as a full partner and source of control in offering coordinated and
compassionate cared anchored on respect for the preferences, needs, and values of the patient
(van der Meer, Nieboer, Finkenflügel & Cramm, 2018).
Nurses and nursing students must collaborate with the patients to integrate the
preferences as well as values in the process of offering care which respects the diversity of
individual differences. Nurses, as well as the nursing students, must have self-awareness of how
their own beliefs and values may impact of influence the establishment of therapeutic
interactions. According to Smith & Kirkpatrick (2013), even though communication is not the
only emphasis on patient-centered care, it offers a firm foundation for the provision of healthcare
which recognizes as well as entails the patients as a source of control and full partner. Without
effective therapeutic communication skills, nurses may be unable to elicit values of the patient
and collaborate with the patient to organize and offer quality care.
Therapeutic communication entails interpersonal communication between the nurse and
the patient. The communication is aimed at aiding the patient (Hawthorn, 2015). The
communication skills which are needed in therapeutic communication are numerous and delicate
than those needed in the general communication process. The mastering of therapeutic
techniques helps healthcare professionals in understanding the patient better. It is important to
note that sound and effective interpersonal skills for the nurse are of vital and necessary for

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effective and efficient therapeutic communications. Various therapeutic communication skills
can be utilized by the nurse to enhance and promote person-centered care. One of the techniques
is being attentive to the needs and values of the patient. A nurse has to be attentive to what the
patient is saying nonverbally as well as verbally (Fradelos & Staikos, 2013).
A nurse has to share and show empathy toward the patient by understanding and
accepting his or her realities, and accurately perceive his or her feelings as well as communicate
understanding. Nurses can also share humor and feelings by letting patients express their
emotions by acknowledging feelings, making observations and promoting communication, and
in the process permitting them to express negative feelings. To achieve an effective therapeutic
communication in person-centred care, nurses must follow and adhere to the rule of
confidentiality and privacy to safeguard the rights of patients, allow patients to freely express
themselves and generally respect the dignity of patients taking into consideration their age,
background, race, socioeconomic status, and background (Tanveer, Shahid & Hafeez, 2018).
Interprofessional collaboration is vital for the relationship between the patient and the nurse. The
nursing staff and the patient need to follow the rules as well as use courtesy forms such as saying
hello, introducing themselves, knocking doors, smiling, making eye contact, etc.
Barriers to effective communication in nursing practice
Despite the firm emphasis on improving the communication skills of nurses and other
caregivers, there are still shortages. Thus, effective communication is limited by a host of
structured attributes. Therapeutic communications strengthen the relationship between the nurse
and the patient as well as creates a good environment for healthcare delivery. Thus, ineffective
communication between a nurse and the patient can lead to misdiagnosis, dissatisfaction with
care, frustration and uncertainty and misunderstanding for both the parties (Leef & Hallas, 2013).

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Therefore, information on communication barriers is necessary to identify the likely causes of
communication pitfalls between the nurse and the patient.
Shortage of nurses has been attributed to be one of the barriers to effective therapeutic
communication as it increases the workload of nurses. Thus, there is not enough time to create an
effective therapeutic relationship. Another vital barrier is the negative attitude of the patient
toward caregiver which ensures that the patient will not disclose vital and private information to
the nurse. For a good communication to exist between the nurse and the patient, all the parties
must not harbor any negative feelings toward each other since the negative attitude will ruin and
poison the interaction. All the parties must show respect, professional empathy, and love toward
each other to establish a good working environment. The use of technical terms or jargons by the
healthcare professionals when communicating to the patients is another barrier of therapeutic
communication (Baer & Weinstein, 2013). For instance, nurses normally distance themselves
from their patients by using technical, jargon language which may be perfectly effective when
communicating with other nurses, yet it is potentially frightening and confusing to the patients.
Nurses should, therefore, use language which is easily understood by the normal and average
layperson as well as explaining healthcare terms in plain language at each opportunity.
The role of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) practice in the delivery of Patient-Centred Care
Interprofessional collaboration is described in terms of ‘when numerous healthcare staffs
from various professional backgrounds effectively work together with caregivers, communities,
families, and patients to deliver the highest quality of health care (Müller et al. 2018). IPC is
based on the idea that when healthcare providers consider and recognize each other’s
perspectives and that of the patient, better health care can be delivered. IPC ensures that the
delivery of care is headed in the right direction, especially person-centered care. The aims of IPC

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are enhancing the experience and satisfaction of the patient, enhancing the health of the
population as well as minimizing the cost of healthcare. It is important for every healthcare
professional to shift their focus on partnership, sharing, and collaboration in delivering quality
care in person-centered care instead of operating in silos.
The safety and quality of care as well as the need to minimize cost, require every
healthcare professional to operate together in a working environment of respect mutually. Due to
the perceived and projected shortages of nurses, it is prudent to rely on IPC practice to work
mutually and collaboratively and more effectively (Park, Hawkins, Hamlin, Hawkins, &
Bamdas, 2014). However, if the team’s healthcare professionals do not collaborate and
communicate, their performance to deliver quality care to the patients will suffer. Working as a
team and having a good working relationship have the potential to minimize medical costs and
errors to the patient.
Effective communication strategies to improve IPC in person-centred care
Effective communication between the nurse and physician that builds and enhances trust
as well as a mutual sense of responsibility for the care of patients is gradually becoming a vital
skill for nurses. Nurses whose communications fosters engagement of patients has been linked to
an array of benefits such as increased trust, patient satisfaction, adherence of treatment by
patients, greater quality of care, and enhanced medical outcomes. One of the communication
strategies that are important in IPC practice in person-centred care is the provision of
compassionate, personalized care (Santana et al. 2018). This is done integrate patients in their
care by having control in the treatment process; nurses must establish a patient relationship
anchored on trust and honest communication, offering timely information as well as reassuring
them in frightening times. Another strategy is to educate patients and other staff members in

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cultural contexts. A nurse should use effective communication strategy to bridge the expectations
of patients. For instance, patients diagnosed with bronchitis normally expect antibiotics
prescription, but acute bronchitis does not need antibiotics treatment.
Conclusion
Therapeutic communication is intended to help patients by involving them in the
treatment process. It creates a therapeutic relationship which ensures that quality care is provided
to the patient. The relationship also infers the concept of independence on the patient. Thus,
effective communication skills and strategies must be employed by nurses to ensure that quality
care is provided to the patient in person-centred care.
References

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