Describe a time when you did not communicate well, either in writing or verbally. What was the outcome and how did you handle it?
Great nursing care depends on great communication. It's often said in nursing, 'If it is not written, it wasn't done'. Documenting in the medical record is a legal entry which can be used in court, so learning how to communicate succinctly, correctly, legibly, and timely is extremely important. Oral communication is equally as important and can be muddied with body language, colloquialisms, slang, dialect, accents, and even volume. By definition, effective communication is the process of exchanging knowledge and information in a way that its purpose or intention is understood by the receiver.
"When I first became a nurse, I was nervous and probably too chatty and talked way too fast. I remember one patient just looking at me and nodding her head. She was an elderly woman and a little confused at times, and she was saying she didn't like the pink pill. I smiled and chatted over her and just really didn't stop to hear her, and she always took the pink pill so I didn't think anything about it. I was encouraging her to take her pills when her daughter spoke up and said, 'I think the doctor discontinued the Prozac which was the pink pill today!' My patient was trying to tell me something about her pill and because I didn't listen closely, I almost made a medication error!
I didn't make the error, but I still reported the incident to my nursing supervisor as a near miss. The doctor had just left the room and had not entered the order yet, but I still should have listened to my patient. I apologized to her and her daughter, but I learned an important lesson that day, and that is to talk less and listen more to my patients."
