Communication, Interpersonal Skills, and Decision Making

Templeman, Jenni; Keeling, June

Abstract

This chapter explores the various aspects of communication and how these relate to our own interpersonal skills in communicating with others. The effectiveness of our communication—that is, how good we are at passing on information and ensuring that another person understands what we are trying to say—has a direct effect on both our own decision-making skills and the decisions made by those around us. We have all come across health care professionals whom we have felt have a good ‘bedside manner’ and those who do not. Historically, this term has been used to describe those who can communicate effectively. It is very important that, through our use of words, the person listening is able to understand what we mean. In nursing and health care generally, there is an increasing emphasis on communication as a means of building therapeutic relationships with both patients and their relatives. Communication, in the light of new technologies and ease of access by the wider community, extends far beyond the patient’s reliance on others for information about his or her health and well-being. It now encompasses more interpersonal communication, in which patients can be viewed as ‘the expert’ in conversations with nurses and doctors, an increased awareness of cultural influences, and the use of social networking sites, as well as the numerous Internet sites now available, to offer possible diagnoses and treatment options for the general public. Making decisions about patients’ health and often whether to accept those made on their behalf by others is now a real challenge for health professionals when communicating with patients and their families. As a nurse, it is part of your role to make decisions with patients and their families not for them, and the importance of learning how to communicate effectively, as well as how to engage in communicating with people, is clearly evident in the fact that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Standards for Pre-Registration Nursing Education (NMC 2010b) now includes a new set of competencies solely for ‘Communication and interpersonal skills’.

Citation

Templeman, J., & Keeling, J. (2013). Communication, Interpersonal Skills, and Decision Making. In Nursing: Decision-Making Skills for Practice. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199641420.003.0014

• Online Publication Date: Nov 12, 2020
• Publication Date: May 30, 2013
• Deposit Date: Jun 5, 2023
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Book Title: Nursing: Decision-Making Skills for Practice
• ISBN: 9780191918186
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199641420.003.0014
• Keywords: accountability; body language; caring; empathy; interpersonal skills; jargon; language; miscommunication; professional values