Question

Professional nurses rely on research findings to inform practice decisions; they use critical thinking to apply research directly to specific patient care situations. Think about an independent nursing practice problem you care passionately about and would be interested in searching for evidence. *For the below questions, medical/doctor/physician problems will not be used, for example, treatments such as medications or diagnostics such as cardiac catherizations. Also, broad practice problems such as staffing issues, workforce issues, or patient ratios will not be used as this is an organizational/system/political/administrative/multi-stakeholder problem which nursing cannot solve independently.

Answer 1

It is important for the nurses to maintain a healthy patient-nurse relationship while caring for the patients but lack of communication sometimes makes it difficult for the nurses to do so. Lack of communication not only make it difficult for the nurses to explain the interventions and care process to the patients but it also make it difficult for the patients to explain their problems to the nurses. The prime responsibility of the nurse is to help the patients have a comfortable stay in the hospital and provide them the best possible care. But due to communication gap among the nurses and the patients, majority of the patient’s issues remain unrecognized. In addition to this, the nurses caring for patients with mental health issues should be extra considerate toward their needs. Proper communication can help them recover fast. But, lack of communication can slow down their recovery and it can make them feel isolated. Similarly, it is important for the nurses to have proper communication with other staff members in the healthcare setting because it reduce conflicts, work load and enhance trust among the nurses. This can develop a positive work culture which can not only benefit the nurses but also the patients. It would be great to search for evidences that can help the nurses to develop proper communication habits in the healthcare settings.