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Nursing is a caring profession. It is also a profession that is more and more evidenced based in practice. In as much as the scientific aspects of nursing is increasing due to the complex technological advancement of medicine and the machinery that is used at the patients bedside, the fact remains that the nurse is the first person that the client usually comes in contact with in any emergency or hospital setting.

Having said this, the term, “caring” is an essential emotion that all nurses, for that matter, all individuals in the health profession must possess. With caring comes the trained ability of the nurse to facilitate therapeutic communication. One might ask, what is therapeutic communication? To better answer this question, the term communication should first be defined.

Communication can be defined as “The Process of transmitting messages and interpreting meaning.” (Wilson and others, 1995) With therapeutic communication, the sender, or nurse seeks to illicit a response from the receiver, the patient that is beneficial to the patients mental and physical health. Just as stress has been proven to adversely affect the health of individuals, the therapeutic approach to communication can actually help. In any given situation everyone uses communication.

Everyone has seen the individual that looks like they are either angry, stressed, feeling ill or maybe sad. These emotions are communicated to others not always by words, but by gestures and facial expressions. A nurse must always be aware of these expressions in clients, for these expressions may be the only way that the nurse can tell if there is something else going on that needs their attention. The term given to this type of non-verbal communication is called, meta-communication. In meta-communication, the client may look at their amputated stump and say that it doesn’t really look that bad, while at the same time tears are rolling down from their eyes.

In a case such as this the nurse should stay and further explore how the person actually feels. There are many factors associated with the healing and comforting aspects of therapeutic communication. Circumstances, surroundings, and timing all play a role in the effect of therapeutic communication. If a client is being rushed down for an emergency surgery there might not be time for a bedside conversation, but the holding of a hand could convey much more than words to the client at such a moment.

Ideally, for therapeutic communication to be effective the nurse must be aware of how they appear to the client. If a nurse appears rushed, for example, they are speaking quickly, their countenance looks harried, and they are breathing heavily, their eyes not on the client but perhaps on an intravenous bag on the client in the next bed. In a case like this, there is nothing that this nurse could say to the client in a therapeutic manner that the client would believe. The helping relationship has not been established and therefore therapeutic communication cannot be facilitated. Some of the emotions associated with therapeutic communication include but are not limited to the following: Professionalism, Confidentiality, Courtesy, Trust, Availability, Empathy, and Sympathy. (Potter, Patricia A., Perry, Anne G., Co. 2003, Basic Nursing Essentials for Practice, pg. 123, Mosby)

All of these emotions go into the client nurse relationship, which must be established by the nurse as soon as possible upon first meeting the client. To begin to establish this nurse client relationship, the nurse must assess the overall message that the client is communicating to the nurse, such as fear, pain, sadness, anxiety or apathy. The nurse should be trained in keying into the message that the client is sending. Only then can the nurse determine the best therapeutic approach. Anyone that has to be thrust in to a hospital or emergency room environment has level of anxiety.

This level can go up considerably when the client feels that they have been abandoned or that there is no one there that really cares about how they feel. When a client is the recipient of therapeutic communication from a caring individual, a level of trust is achieved and more than, that the clients entire countenance can change for the better. Their blood pressure, respirations and levels of stress can simultaneously decrease. When this takes place, the management of pain, if any is involved, can be resolved more quickly. The goal for a nurse is to become proficient in the medical.

Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, organizational, or external levels. Effective communication is an important characteristic of strong and healthy families. Effective communication in the workplace is necessary for a friendly and conducive work environment.

Learning

Learning how to communicate assertively allows you the freedom to know that you have a right to speak and be heard in most situations and the confidence to know that you can present yourself in such a fashion that people will want to hear you.

Three elements propel your leadership communications: speaking, listening and learning. What matters is not avoiding all disagreements, but learning to give and put your partner before yourself. If you want to be emotionally congruent, you must recognize the importance of learning to feel safe with all your emotions.

Family

Communication in a family requires workdiligent work. Here are some tips that can help your family have wholesome and profitable conversations: Take time to talk. As adults, we often use the radio as an escape; instead, choose to chat with your family. Yelling and throwing items during a family discussion sets a horrible example for our children and destroys your credibility as parents.

Conflict

Conflict between people is a fact of life and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Conflicts occur at all levels of interaction: at work, among friends, within families and between relationship partners. Conflict can cause resentment, hostility and perhaps the ending of the relationship.

Improve

The greatest skill you can have in order to instantly and significantly improve you communications skills is to understand the other person’s point view and how they see the world. You can make a big impact simply by changing some of your language and developing your verbal skills, This way you can significantly improve your communication skills.

As we look to the future for ever better ways to improve performance, leadership and teamwork and to handle the accelerating changes we face both at work and at home, we must understand the significant ways that interpersonal communication impacts our lives.

Conclusion

Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. Interpersonal communication skills are the one asset that will take you up the career ladder faster than any other. Any organization or relations can be made more productive by effective communication. And from these new effective communication skills, you can start having increased happiness, success, and better relationships.