Welcome to my 1st blog, our first huddle. As nurses there are so many topics and issues that come to mind, however I will prioritize (like a good ER nurse) and choose one that is of high importance to me. Should I write about safe staffing, of course I should, but I won’t. Not today anyway. I want to talk about how we as professionals speak and treat each other on a daily.
I can’t stand negative confrontation, especially among my co-workers. However, the stressful environment of a busy emergency department is not without a moderate dose of conflict. Effective communication is critical in healthcare and the way we communicate with one another can have astounding effects including poor nurse retention and even worse, poor patient outcomes. Now, I am not a communications major, but I do know that non-verbal communication speaks the loudest. I also feel that basic courtesy and closed loop communication skills should not be a-lot to ask of people. One of my favorites is when I ask someone if they would please _______ (answer room 21’s call light, do an EKG, ANYTHING) and they either just stare at me without answering or simply just not respond. It’s like, hellooo? Did you hear me? Are you good?
Delegation never came easy for me. Am I supposed to always say things like, “hey when you get a chance could you please….” each and every time?? Thanks to technology, orders are placed into the computer for our techs to perform their roles. I really shouldn’t have to verbally ask for too much. Yet, depending on your co-pilot for the day will depend if we are crashing or not. I’m truly not sure if nursing assistants and patient care techs really understand how essential they are to patient care and the team. So, kudos to you awesome techs and assistants who are “A players”!!!!
A time where I feel communication needs improvement is during nurse to nurse report. Yes, most of us are familiar with the SBAR tool to assist with a focused and concise report. However, I find that many times the nurse I am handing off to seems very rushed or not 100% present. Many times I’ll call a floor for report and even the way the phone is answered is rude. For example, instead of, “Hello, welcome to 5 meow” I’ll be greeted by, “I haven’t even given the nurse the paper yet, click!” Like, can we have our phonecalls recorded for quality assurance please? I’m always baffled how we strive as a field to be respected professionally yet speak to each other so curt or even engage in regualar gossip. (Oh gossip, this topic will be for another huddle!)
I believe it is very powerful to be self aware of the “vibe” we put off to the universe. If you are one that finds themselves in constant conflict, one should reflect within and wonder. What is one way you could improve your communication techniques? I would like to improve my listening skills. Taking the time to be present and actively listen to each other and our patients is not easy. One would think listening would be a passive activity but it is not. Deciding to listen will allow us to respond more thoughtfully.
Thanks for “listening” to me ❤
“We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we react” -unknown author
The S-BAR 
It has always been strange to me the lack of common respect and decency with your fellow coworkers. Just raises more questions. Are we impatient because we think everyone should know what we know? Is it a lack of empathy or understanding? Do we as humans not give respect to each other until its earned? Are we stuck on our own ego? I for one tend to give respect to those who i feel don’t give it back. Why? Maybe I’m a natural peace keeper? But what I find is that if you swallow your pride and respect everyone you will relize that eventually people do come around. Not always the case but in my experince it is def. the majority.
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Thank you so much for contributing your thoughts and for being my 1st comment! I do feel that we should treat everyone with kindness and respect without them having to “earn” it. Every workplace has it’s culture and I’m sure in your field (electrician/construction) that it can be rough around the edges. Ego absolutely plays a role during our communication and can lead to defensiveness. I have been told many times that I react defensively and constantly try to examine why that may be.
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first and formost let me wish you luck with your love, and natural consern for mankind! more people need to understand the importance of, patpatience, love and understanding, and most of all “RESPECT”!!. a lot of people just don’t have the respect, and that is where I become nicer!!!!! Most people just don’t have the wits or should I say the know how. it is a shame that some can just be to quick to answer and not take the time to address the problem in a concerning helpful way! the negativity that jumps out first just tells me that they are not happy..I usualy turn it around and make them laugh.
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Awe, thanks Jo! I do agree with you that chances are if someone is consistently negative and rude that they are probably unhappy in their own skin. That’s where we are supposed to be kinder to them. I do find it un-natual and not easy to “kill with kindness” but have found that if I simply don’t react or respond defensively that a conflict can be avoided. It’s also easy to be nice when you are a happy person. I know I annoy people with my “bubbly” attitude and I have been told that my optimism is naive, but I do believe kindness is just as contagious as negativity so I try my best to stay that way. Lord knows it doesn’t always work.
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