Improving Communication amongst Nurses, Patients, and Physicians - Essay Example

"Improving Communication amongst Nurses, Patients, and Physicians" is an outstanding example of a paper on care. Communication is essential in health care and nursing. Communication between patients, nurses, and physicians, and care managers is essential in the industry. Traditionally, there was no much communication between nurses and patients, even when changing shifts the introduction of the new nurses and care managers was not done. The approach adopted by Wentworth-Douglas hospital in the improvement of communication in the care unit was straightforward and improved the communication between patients and caregivers. It involved the implementation of Safety Huddle in communication between caregivers and improved the safety of the patients. Despite the success of the initiatives, there are still problems in communication techniques.  The problem identified by Kohn et al is a result of an error in consideration of issues especially in the health care system (Kohn LT, 2000). There are serious consequences resulting from either miscommunication, or human error examples include; the death of Ben Kolb due to a drug mix-up in 1980 among other errors. Human error can be reduced by efficient communication between the involved persons which in turn promotes transparency (Berwick, 2002). The development of SBAR is an example of the improvement of communication in the health care sector.

Relation of the article with class content

SBAR is the initials for situation background, assessment, and recommendation. It is a standard technique of communication developed by health care professionals. In fact, the article by Kimberly on improving communication among nurses, patients, and physicians has its basis on the SBAR communication technique. The understanding of the situation of each patient in the unit is vital for the caregivers. Situations are the current condition of the patients. SBAR helps in bridging the gap brought by the initial communication technique by allowing for the participation of nurses and patients. Background information of the patients is essential in the understanding of the situation and development of assessment records (Diers, 2004). The assessment of the conditions of patients, practiced in the initiative take by Wentworth -Douglas hospital staff improved understanding of the patients on their health conditions, and ultimately improving the communication between nurses and patients. The sharing of assessment reports between nurses and patients increased the success of the new approach adopted by the hospital.

Significance of the article to nursing

Nurses interact with patients most of the time; therefore, communication between the two groups is crucial. The initiative employed by Wentworth- Douglas Hospital is an exceptionally compelling example of communication technology development in health care. Nurses need to be close to their patients as possible because it will lead to openness and ease of work. Additionally, the employment of intentional rounding, which involves patients, nurses, and physicians improves the wellbeing of the patients and reduces the work of the nurses. The power of communication should not be underestimated; in fact, health care should improve on the SBAR through initiatives such as the ones employed by Wentworth- Douglas hospital. In conclusion, the article is helpful in improving and innovating new communication technologies in the health care sector. The health care system’s communication strategy did not accept the changes in communication witnessed in the other fields, as such, it still lags behind in communication techniques creating the need for improvement and development.

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