Communication abilities are vital in the nursing ground where technically proficient nurses need to accurately identify, treat, and provide comfort for patients. Nurses are able to assist patients in adhering to lifestyle changes by allowing patients to reveal uncertainties not shared with doctors; being talkative or sharing a joke may provide an explanation where doctor’s communication failed. Good communication skills are crucial to nurses as patient experiences are formed by how care is provided (Hood, 2014, p. 25). Through communication, patients are relieved, put at ease, taken seriously and understand their illness more fully. Through communication, patients get a chance to express their fears and concerns. Patients become motivated to follow the medication schedule. Effective communication is, therefore, more than providing excellent patient care. It is also the means by which patient’s involvement is enhanced.

Collaboration and cooperation becomes a process requiring premeditated knowledge sharing and joint accountability for patient care (Hood, 2014, p. 27). It is significant among healthcare disciplines as it ensures the improvement of patient care and creation of satisfying work roles. Collaboration is critical among health professionals in a climate regularly demanding efficiency, cost effectiveness, and quality enhancement. Collaboration holds the potential for improving patient care and creating satisfying work roles (Hood, 2014, p. 29).

Effects of Nursing Factors on Patient Outcome

Nurses can also contribute to undesirable patient outcome in other ways. For example, when health-care cost is increased, pressure is put on the hospital nursing staff, which could have adverse results for quality care. Due to understaffing, nurses experiences exhaustion and dissatisfaction, which can have a harmful outcome (Lancaster, Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kovacich, &Greer-Williams, 2015, p 275). Understaffing reduces the nursing time at the patient’s bedside, which may lead to adverse patient’s consequences. Nurses’ working conditions have been known to affect patients’ outcome. Deliberate professional variability, which relates to how nurses, doctors, and others practitioners treat work. (Lancaster, Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kovacich, & Greer-Williams, 2015, p. 284). This variability affects the speed of a patient’s development. Due to its shortage, nurses are relegating expanded roles in human care to UAPs which might bring adverse patient outcome as it takes more time to administer care. Nurses report growing discontent with their work in hospitals that have lack of workforce, which requires regular overtime and which has replaced nurses with unlicensed assistive personnel. These occurrences are related to unreceptive nurse and patient outcomes. Cases arise from UAPs where errors have resulted in harm to patients including death. UAPs lack the understanding, judgment, and skills to sufficiently evaluate and monitor a patient’s condition. (Lancaster, Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kovacich, &Greer-Williams, 2015, p. 281).

Conclusion

Inter-professional collaboration within all health disciplines increases patient outcome. Collaboration helps to keep patients happy in spite of economic pressures. It helps teams to work together, to prosper by raising self-awareness and preventing weariness. Collaborative partners save time as they focus on issues of importance. Collective teams are hopeful and optimistic. Interdisciplinary teamwork promotes quality patient care in a period of reduced resources and enhanced expectations. When all professionals contribute their knowledge and skills, positive patient outcome is achieved, as awareness and abilities lead to continued improvement in service delivery. Therefore, good communication encourages collaboration and helps avoid errors.

References

Hood, L.J. (2014). Leddy & Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (8th

Ed.). Philadelphia, PA.

Lancaster, G., Kolakowsky-Hayner, S., Kovacich J., &Greer-Williams, N. (2015). Communication and Collaboration among Physicians, Nurses, and Unlicensed Assistive

Personnel. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 47(3), 275-84. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=55&Si

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