Effective communication is a core clinical skill requiring leadership to ensure it is embedded in nursing practice. The need is heightened in trauma situations when poor communication can lead to critical errors.
Patients can find any medical situation stressful, but trauma adds another layer of fear and uncertainty. How nurses communicate with patients — and with one another — during medical trauma can have a profoundly positive impact on the emotional and physical well-being of vulnerable patients.
While clear communication throughout a patient’s care reduces anxiety, fosters trust, and supports better health outcomes, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care says it is critical in high-risk situations.
As outlined in the Communicating for Safety Standard, systems and processes must support effective communication not just with patients and their families but also between clinicians and multidisciplinary teams.
Setting the communication standard for nurses
Nurse leaders play a pivotal role in embedding communication into daily practice — particularly for junior nurses still learning the ropes and those navigating the added challenges of trauma care.
By modelling clear and respectful communication with patients and their families, as well as with colleagues, nurse leaders set the standard for all team members.
This leads to a consistent approach to the way patients and their families are kept informed and the way nurses communicate with one another. The latter is especially critical during handover, which has been identified as a priority for preventing patient harm.
Nurse leaders must ensure that communication strategies are an ongoing part of training and professional development, meaning:
- Adopting — and adapting — a framework for effective communication that sets priorities and ensures standards are maintained
- Embedding best-practice tools such as ISBAR (Identify/Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) for clinical handovers and internal and external transfers
- Role-playing and simulations that help nurses develop skills in dealing with stress and ways to respond during trauma situations
- Debriefing that reflects not just on the clinical outcome but also on communication in each situation, offering opportunities for guidance and improvement.
Nurses tailoring trauma care to individual patient needs
Effective communication puts the patient first. While a framework for communication demands standardised advice, person-centred care requires clinicians to tailor that advice to an individual’s needs. That means considering characteristics such as the patient’s age, educational background, and mental health as well as other barriers to communication such as hearing loss.
It also means encouraging patients to take an active role in decision-making. While this can be challenging in trauma situations, communication becomes even more vital when patients are at their most vulnerable.
Keeping trauma patients informed
Patients in trauma situations experience an often overwhelming array of emotions as well as physical discomfort or acute pain.
Nurses ensure patient-centred care by keeping both emotional and physical needs front and centre. Clear communication helps to:
- Reduce uncertainty when patients fear for their lives or feel loss of control. Clear statements such as, “You are not alone,” delivered in a reassuring voice can alleviate patient stress.
- Build trust by leveraging the power of tone of voice, eye contact, and human touch which can have a positive effect, even when a patient is unconscious. When nurses attend to patients’ nonverbal cues, validate patients’ emotions, and listen actively to patients, patients feel safer.
- Establish goals when nurses explain interventions, ask for patients’ consent, when possible, and set expectations by saying, “You may feel pressure” or “You may hear a loud noise.” A shared understanding of treatment promotes cooperation and recovery.
Clear reporting between nurses is also critical to safety. Poor communication, particularly during patient handover, can lead to confusion, delays in interventions, and errors.
A study published in Australian Critical Care found that risks were exacerbated during trauma patient transfers from the intensive care unit to a ward. Clinical deficits and discrepancies in information communicated to ward nurses were cited as issues.
Communicating for cultural safety
It is important to note that one size does not fit all. Effective communication must also be culturally safe and responsive to individual needs.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face significantly higher rates of mortality and morbidity, with poor communication identified as a clear barrier to improving outcomes.
Nurses must be aware of their patients’ belief systems and of the way their own beliefs affect communication with patients from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds.
By showing respect for and actively listening to the perspectives of patients and their families, nurses help to create culturally safe spaces.
This is heightened in rural and remote communities, where nurses typically have little or no clinical support and play a much bigger role in delivering healthcare.
Nurses leading the way in trauma care
Nurse leaders who prioritise clear, respectful, and culturally aware communication create a more inclusive and safer healthcare environment.
Nursing staff feel more supported, reducing the risk of errors in critical situations and improving well-being, while patients and families are kept informed, bringing much-needed reassurance at a traumatic time.
By acknowledging communication as a core clinical skill and continuing to promote its development, nurse leaders strengthen health outcomes for all.
Find out more about how Lippincott® Solutions can support nurses in Australia’s healthcare settings.
