In the nursing profession, communication skills is very important because the job requires you to communicate with patients who are not well, be it physically or emotionally. Likewise, you need to be very good at your communication skills when it comes to interacting with your colleagues, employees and/or employers. Aside from patience, skills and knowledge, communication skills count as one of the basic essentials in this profession.
Types of Communication Skills
Interpersonal Skills means that you have to build strong interpersonal relationship with the patient. This is a basic requirement in the nursing profession. You have to know and understand with the patient’s feelings, issues and concerns. You have to make a connection with them. Good interpersonal skills requires a lot of understanding and caring with your patients, making them feel that they are being valued and that their feelings are important. Helping them how to overcome those issues and concerns is significant in having a very good interpersonal relationship with them.
Teaching Skills means that you as a nurse should have a good teaching skills for your patients because you stand as their caretakers. A nurse should be there to guide and teach his patients especially to answer their questions and doubts with simplicity and assurance, which would require effective teaching skills.
Listening and Probing Skills are two very important factors to consider in communication skills that you must possess. Oftentimes, the patient is very sick or confused, weak and has difficulty explaining things so as a nurse you should know how to probe well. Listen intently to what the patient has to say and if there are things that you didn’t understand, you be able to ask politely again and probe the patient in a concerned manner. This will give a good connection with the patient and will make you understand his health condition in a much better way.
Electronic Skills means that you as a nurse, with the advent of technology, should be equipped in electronic communication skills. All the essential data and information of the patient needs to be properly stored and kept in an efficient manner so that they can be assessed instantly as and when needed. It is very important that you as a nurse to become computer literate.
All these skills are needed in the nursing profession. These may be hard for others while some may find these trouble-free. Nevertheless, everything becomes easier and better through proper training and learning. As a nurse, you have to possess effective communication skills to become an effective nurse.
