The case introduces you to Alfie who is post-operative for a total hip replacement.
Nurse Rosie identifies Alfie’s clinical condition is deteriorating and calls for assistance
in the form of local help from Julia.
Case Scenario: Nursing Interpersonal Communication
Effective and Ineffective Intercommunication
Communication among nurses and other healthcare personnel is integral in the
provision of quality healthcare and service delivery. There are various factors which lead to
its breakdown leading to poor outcomes, compromised patient safety, and patient satisfaction.
Furthermore, it leads to the occurrence of errors which are detrimental to the patient’s health
and may lead to death (Gulyas, 2015) . As such, the process of communication and
information dissemination should be optimized to allow for critical and key pieces of
information to be passed and hence, better outcomes. Additionally, poor and ineffective
communication factors should be identified and eliminated in the process of interpersonal
nursing communication and interaction, which will ultimately enhance the quality of
healthcare provided for the patient.
Mr. Alfie’s case scenario depicts various forms of effective and ineffective
communication between nurses Rosie and Julia in a bid to provide the necessary and required
intervention measures to the patient. Effective interpersonal communication is good listening
skills between the nurses, and hence, there is the provision of the information which is
internalized and noted as it affects the outcome of the patient (Polis, Higgs, Manning, Netto,
& Fernandez, 2017) . A brief history and the various treatment protocol instituted in the case
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 2
scenario is used to aid in the determination of the cause of Mr. Alfie’s deteriorating
condition. Moreover, it leads to a better understanding of the underlying factors which will
allow for better diagnosis and treatment.
In addition, there is cooperation and teamwork among the nurses, which enhances
intercommunication among them. It leads to an unhindered flow of information and avoids
duplication and other wastages in healthcare, which would result in poor and ineffective
communication. The case scenario is well articulated, and Nurse Rosie provides the required
information to her counterpart (Gulyas, 2015) . Moreover, there is a collaborative effort to try
and figure out the cause of Mr. Alfie’s deterioration and poor health outcomes
postoperatively. Consequently, the teamwork and collaboration will enhance healthcare
service provision, improved quality of care, better outcomes, and patient and nurse
satisfaction.
An ineffective interpersonal communication noted from the scenario is the lack of a
structured protocol to the communication between the nurses. A lack of a distinct checklist or
guidelines on what information is required to be passed on from nurse Rosie to Julia is a form
of ineffective communication as there is a risk of missing out on the crucial and key pieces of
information (Aitkin & Edgar, 2013) . Moreover, it will result in a breakdown in the
dissemination of information, thereby putting the patient at risk. It also predisposes to poor
diagnosis and implementation of intervention measures which may not be effective in turning
around the post-operative care for the patient hence the poor outcomes.
A lack of continuous briefs on the patient’s condition is also a form of ineffective
communication between the nurses. There should be scheduled brief meetings to update each
other on the findings and results of intervention measures implemented to aid in Mr. Alfie’s
recovery process. Such, meetings are required to provide updated information which will aid
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 3
in the diagnosis and post-operative care are lacking from the scenario (Streeter, Harrington,
& Lane, 2015) . There is also no reference to any future meetings for the evaluation of his
condition, which will lead to a breakdown in information dissemination. Consequently, it
leads to poor and ineffective communication and collaborative teamwork between nurses.
Impact of Effective and Ineffective Communication
Patient
Communication is an important determinant on patient outcomes. It plays an integral
role in ensuring the dissemination and flow of information from nurses to nurses,
interdisciplinary teams, nurse to patient, and patient to the healthcare giver. Effective and
ineffective communication impact the patient safety by either enhancing it and leading to a
greater risk of error which is detrimental to the health of the patient or life-threatening as they
cause fatalities respectively (Leonard, 2017) . Effective nursing communication leads to
improved outcomes as the information disseminated provides crucial pieces of information
that aid in diagnosis, treatment, and institution of intervention measures. It also leads to better
outcomes for the patient through enhanced safety and satisfaction. Furthermore, it creates an
element of trust and enhanced teamwork and collaboration with the patient and caregiver
through the provision of the relevant data thus aids in recovery (McAllen, Stephens,
Swanson-Biearman, Kerr, & Whiteman, 2018) . A cordial interpersonal relation is achieved
and thus helps in the personalization of healthcare for the clients. Ultimately, it results in
better outcomes for the patients
Ineffective communication leads to poor outcomes for the patient as it leads to errors,
misdiagnosis, and fatalities. It also leads to a delayed and protracted healing duration.
Patient safety is compromised through the risk of wrong medication, the institution of varying
treatment protocols, misdiagnosis, or missed information leading to poor outcomes for the
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 4
patient (Leonard, 2017) . Moreover, patient satisfaction in healthcare provision is inadequate.
Adittionaly, it leads to a lack of patient-centered care as the information provided is
inadequate hence the need for duplication to attain the information. As such, there is an
increase in wastes, such as waiting, overproduction, and over-processing, which impact the
patient negatively. Consequently, the quality of care accorded to the patient is low, resulting
in poor outcomes (Al Sayah, Szafran, Robertson, Bell, & Williams, 2014) . Patient
satisfaction is also not realized as there is inadequate and poor service delivery, which is
occasioned by a breakdown in the communication among the nurses hence an ineffective and
inefficient team.
Nurses
Effective communication among nurses promotes cohesion and collaboration among
them. It leads to a conducive environment for the interdisciplinary team to provide quality
healthcare and service delivery to the patients (Foronda, MacWilliams, & McArthur, 2016) .
Moreover, it promotes an interpersonal relationship among the nurses and thus ensures staff
satisfaction ultimately minimizing turnover in a nursing unit. Furthermore, a culture of self-
development is instilled as the collaborative measures and teamwork increases and enhances
the capacity of the nurses. They can influence each other positively and provide learning
opportunities which increase their skillset and ensures the provision of quality healthcare to
the patients. Additionally, the nurses can effectively implement evidence-based practices on a
day to day basis as the required information is properly disseminated (Manias, Geddes,
Watson, Jones, & Della, 2016) . Effective communication also leads to elimination and
overcoming barriers such as hierarchy and thus, creation of efficacious service delivery
teams. Consequently, the quality of healthcare and safety measures are improved.
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 5
Ineffective communication among nurses and nursing teams affect the collaborative
efforts in the provision of healthcare, which affects the cohesion of the team. A breakdown in
the dissemination of information among nurses leads to duplication and the risk of occurrence
of errors as the instituted intervention measures are no alighted (Ballantyne, 2019) . It also
leads to poor outcomes and a lack of faith from the patients as they are not confident in the
capacity and capability of a team of individuals providing healthcare without coordination.
Also, there is a lack of motivation and nurse satisfaction leading to an increase in workload
and turnover in a given unit in a health institution. It also predisposes the team to the risk of
errors which have detrimental effects on the patients under their charge. Hence, quality of
care and patient safety is compromised, leading to preventable adverse effects and fatalities in
hospitals (Birmingham, Buffum, Blegen, & Lyndon, 2015) . Consequently, the collaborative
efforts of the team and the desired outcomes are hindered.
Organization
Effective communication in an organization instills a sense of belong among the
members as their goals and objectives are aligned with the mission and vision of the
institution. It also instills a sense of cohesion among the members of the organization through
the dissemination of information (Gulyas, 2015) . Nurses can overcome the hesitance of the
hierarchy and thus can provide their views and feedback on the systems and procedures and
the improvements required therein. It will also allow for the improvement of the quality of
healthcare through capacity building and enhancing the capabilities of individual nurses
(Gausvik, Lautar, Miller, Pallerla, & Schlaudecker, 2015) . A sense of trust is instilled in the
patients, and thus an improvement in patient satisfaction and safety measures are met.
Furthermore, there is a reduction in the workload and nurse turnover, which provides stability
for the organization and thus, delivery of healthcare. The nurses also attain a sense of
belonging and staff satisfaction.
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 6
Poor communication has detrimental effects on an organization and its culture. There
is a lack of coordination leading to poor service delivery, which results in poor patient and
nurse’s satisfaction levels. Additionally it results in a reduction of the quality of care and
service delivery to the patients. Furthermore, there is an increase in wastes, which result in
additional and unnecessary workload overworking the nurses. As a result, there is a high
turnover of the nurses resulting in mistrust among the patients (King et al., 2013). Moreover,
patient safety is compromised due to the breakdown in communication and information
dissemination resulting in errors which cause adverse effects and fatalities to patients.
Cohesion and teamwork among the nurses are hindered, which hurts the organization’s
culture; hence, a high turnover. Also, it leads to poor quality of healthcare and service
provision. Consequently, the negative impact taints the image of the organization among the
patients and other service providers.
NURSING INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION 7
References
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