Staffing the Suite

Communicating Effectively with Co-Workers

In their interactions with patients each day, most healthcare workers (HCWs) recognize the vital importance of listening to patients’ needs and concerns and of providing clear information and instructions to them in turn. To understand and be understood during these interactions is a foundation of effective patient care.

The commitment to excellent communication should not be restricted to the patient, however. For a department, and a facility, to achieve optimal efficiency and meet its goals, HCWs must also strive to achieve and promote effective communication with their co-workers. This effort can provide many benefits to employees and facilities in terms of strengthening relationships and contributing to a positive working environment.

Communication occurs when a sender (speaker) creates a message and relays it to a receiver (listener). The message must be received in order for communication to take place. In other words, it takes two to make it happen; communication is a give and take process that requires the active participation of both parties.

In order to make sure this is the case, it may be necessary to take extra steps in conveying your message. “One way to help ensure that your message was received is to employ the technique of summarization,” says Mary Massad, director of human resource development for Houston-based Administaff, a professional employer organization. She explains that this can be accomplished by methods such as repeating the major points of a conversation immediately after it has occurred and rephrasing what the speaker has said to ensure comprehension.

To proactively initiate communication in an effective manner, it is also important to be mindful of how you and your message are perceived.

“Always speak respectfully to people, even when you’re angry or upset,” says Donna Cardillo, RN, MA, president of Sea Girt, N.J.-based Cardillo & Associates, Nursing Spectrum’s “Dear Donna.” “Tact and diplomacy go a long way toward getting your message across in a credible way. If you put people on the defensive, communication breaks down.”

Cardillo points out there are several things to be aware of in this regard. “You can always be aware of your tone of voice, for example,” she says. “People are very sensitive to the tone of voice you use — your tone can sound calm or urgent, and people respond to that.”

Given that the healthcare environment is often hectic and chaotic, unique communication challenges may exist.

“In most healthcare situations, you’re working in a very fast-paced environment, you’ve got people with varying levels of responsibility and many different ethnic backgrounds, and you’re also working in a high-stress environment,” says Cardillo.

Stress is a common phenomenon in healthcare facilities across the country and should be taken into consideration when dealing with communication.

“Employees are stressed, particularly in the hospital setting. People are working extra hours and we have the nurse shortage,” says Paula Gaddis, RN, vice president of human resources at Asheville, N.C.-based CarePartners, a healthcare organization that includes a variety of post-acute services.

Gaddis goes on to point out that trust between colleagues is an important element of communication and positive outcomes. “If I’m on the unit and I have to send a patient down to endoscopy, I need to make sure I’m telling them everything they need to know about that patient,” she says. “Also, I need to know that when that patient comes back to my unit, I can look at the record and I’ll know what happened. We have to trust each other.”

The trust that must be present in this example can be established and nurtured only through clear and accurate communication on both the written and verbal levels.

When challenges create an environment mired in poor communication, individuals can take steps to proactively change things. Massad describes a number of these potential steps as follows:

• Listen actively
• Focus on what the speaker is saying and not on what you want to say next
• Imagine how you would react to a situation if you were in a co-worker’s shoes
• Make the person you are communicating with feel valued — pay attention to what they are saying

Gaddis also stresses the importance of developing listening skills. “As far as communicating with other people, the main thing that works is to listen carefully,” she says. “We tend to want to jump in and interrupt people, but we should let them say what they need to say and listen first. Then, be open-minded and try to see it from their side.”

Non-verbal communication such as body language and eye contact can also help to establish or hinder the perception of effective communication. Speakers and listeners should always be aware of their body language and its potential contribution to the communication process. “People are often more sensitive to nonverbal communication than the actual words that come out of your mouth,” Cardillo points out.

Massad explains that leadership by example can be a powerful incentive to communicate well. “Credibility can be lost rapidly when company leaders only talk about the importance of communication,” she says.

She explains this should include providing feedback to employees, being honest and open about issues at all times and following up on questions.

At both the individual and organizational levels, effective communication is a skill that should be recognized and cultivated. Challenges and circumstances specific to the healthcare setting make this skill an essential component of efficiency and success.

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