TALKING WITH PATIENTS WEEK 1

Communication between nurses and patients

Communication with patients can be defined as a transaction and message creation.
According to Hornby (1987) communication is the act communcating. The nurses create
message and give to patients. Communication between nurses and patients occurs all day,
every day. At times, the communication can be formal; for example, when a nurse explain
to a patient how to use a medical equipment. At other times, the communcation situation
might be informal, such as the nurse greets the patient, they do a small talk, and then the
nurse moves to the room.

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Meeting patients

Most people who work in a hospital, of course, involved with patients every day. Some
patients spend a lot of time in the hospital. In these cases, the nurses will get to know them
well. Other patients are only in the hospital a day or two. Others are as outpatients (i.e.
thier surgery takes place during the day and they go home the same night).

Practising a dialogue
Situation : It’s been a busy day at Rossmoor Medical Center. The nurse is at the end of her
shift, but a new patient has been admitted, so she stops by to check on her (patient).
Practice the dialogue with a partner.

Good morning, Mrs. Chan. My name is Evelyn, and I’ll be one of the
Nurse: nurses taking care you here.

Patient: Nice to meet you. You look really young to be a nurse!

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Nurse: Really? That’s nice to hear. I have been a nurse for three years now.

Patient: Well, I guess everyone is young compared to me. I’m just 72 years.

Nurse: Good for you! Well, I see that you are here for a hip replacement.

Patient: Yes, my orthopedic surgeon will come to see me soon.

Nurse: Are you nervous?

Patient: Not really.

Nurse: Will someone from your family be here with you?

Patient: Yes ... I think I hear them now.

Great! Well, my shift is over and I need to leave now, but I’ll be back
Nurse:
tomorrow at 7:00 AM. Good luck with your surgery.

Patient: Thanks.
Source: Ito, Nina and Mefford C. 2011. Take care: Communucating in English with U.S.
Health Care Workers. Michigan: Michigan ELT.

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Source: Dialogue between a doctor and a patient. (Online, accessed
dated 08 August 2018)
https://www.fluentland.com/groups/learn-
english/forum/ topic/ dialogue-between-a-doctor-and-a-patient/.

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CONVERSATION BETWEEN NURSE AND PATIENT
Nurse:  Good morning sir, how are you feeling now?
Patient:  Good Morning, I am feeling better than before.
Nurse:  That’s really great. You look hale and hearty.
Patient:  I just want to know that have you changed my medicine because you gave me only two
medicines in the morning.
Nurse:  Yes, seeing the steady improvement in your health, we have reduced your dosage. And
that medicine will be given to you only at night.
Patient:  I am a touch relieved after hearing this.
Nurse:  You have a blood test right now.
Patient:  Blood test for what?
Nurse:  To check the level your hemoglobin.
Patient:  OK and will that be done empty stomach?
Nurse:  Yes, it will done empty stomach.
Patient:  What will I get in breakfast after the test?
Nurse:  Today you will get oats along with a cup of milk.
Patient:  That’s so bland and boring. Can’t you jazz it up a little?
Nurse:  Hilarious! Don’t worry you will get a healthy and sumptuous lunch.
Patient:  That’s perfect.
 
VOCABULARY
Hale and hearty – strong and healthy  
Bland – tasteless, uninteresting
Jazz it up – make something more interesting
Sumptuous – good, splendid

Source: Raj, T. (2017). English Conversations.  (Online, accessed dated 08 August

2018) https://peptalkindia.com/english-conversation-between-nurse-and-
patient/

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 COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR NURSES WEEK 2

Ten communication skills for nurses

For a nurse, the ability to communicate is a very important skill and a vital part of the
job. Nurses speak to people of varying educational, cultural and social backgrounds
and must do so in an effective, caring and professional manner, especially
when communicating with patients and their family.

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If you are looking to improve your communication skills, here are ten tips that
may help:

1 – Speak Slowly

Certain words sound very similar to one another if they are spoken very quickly. Take
the time to speak slowly and carefully, and your words may be less likely to be
mistaken by others.

2 – Speak Clearly, Not Loudly

With some people, especially those who are older, the inclination might be to raise your
voice dramatically in an effort to make them understand you. Shouting only tends to
make it harder to comprehend what you are saying. Instead of speaking louder, try
speaking more clearly, especially when communicating with older patients.

3 – Avoid Using Slang

A common mistake that many people make is to try to use bigger and more
complicated words. Another common mistake is to try to use slang terms that are not
fitting or appropriate. Avoid both of these mistakes for better communication.

4 – Remember Your Audience

What you might say to a doctor or a fellow nurse might be very different from what you
would say to a patient or a patient’s family. For example, use the word ‘medicine’ rather
than ‘drug’ when talking to patients.Choose your words to fit the situation and the
audience.

5 – Stop and Listen

One of the most important skills you can have for effective communication is being able
to actually stop and listen to what is being said by the other person. Listening is a very
powerful communication tool.

6 – Reflect

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To make sure that the communication is flowing, learn the simple trick of reflecting on
what the person is saying to you. To do so, you simply repeat what has been said in
your own words, back to the person. If you are wrong, the person can say so before
you walk away.

7 – Use Body Language

In addition to the words that you say, you communicate with those around you with your
face, your hands your posture etc. Make sure that what you are saying and what your
body is saying are in agreement, and you are not sending conflicting messages.

8 – Know Your Communication Roadblock

If you have ever stumbled on a word or you have ever found yourself so frustrated that
you could not communicate at all, then you know the roadblocks. Everyone has a few
of them, knowing yours can help you to find ways around those issues. For instance, if
you know that a person crying will effectively make your communication skills
disintegrate then learn ways to manage such situations better.

9 – Consider Learning a Foreign Language

It might sound strange but learning a new language puts you in better touch with your
native tongue and can open your eyes to the way you use the words you already know.

10 – Don’t Forget Other Methods of Communication

In addition to speaking and listening, don’t forget that there are other skills that you
should work on such as reading and writing.

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Adding another two communication skills

With a classmae, discuss another two communication skills and then write down
below, explain in brief.

11 -- _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

12 -- _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

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Interacting with patients
For some patients, hospitals are interesting places to stay for two or three days, but it is
boring to have to stay in a hospital room more than three days (Ito & Mefford, 2011).
Nurses’ interactions with patients (e.g., using small talk and follow-up questions) may
make the days a little more interesting.

Practising a dialogue
Situation : A nurese is helping a patient to fill out a form. While she does this, they have a
conversation. Practice the dialogue with a partner.

Hello, Mr. Dross. I’m here to help you fill out this form for your health
Nurse: insurance company.

Patient: Hi.Thanks. My printing is not good these days.

Nurse: O.K. What is your initial?

Patient: “X.” My middle name is Xavier.

Nurse: Well, that’s an interesting name. Now what’s your address, and zip code?

Patient: 1320 Elmwood Street. That is in Riverside. The zip code is 92505.

Nurse: All right. What’s your date of birth?

Patient: June 1st, 1974.

Oh, my father was born on June 1st, too. Now they need to know what
Nurse: medication you’re taking. We can get that from your chart. How about
substance use? I konow that you smoke. How often do you smoke?

Patient: I can’t smoke in here. Ususaaly, I smoke about a pack a week—not much.

O.K., well, we can fill out the rest of the form based on your chart. We’ll
Nurse:
submit the form as soon as possible.

Patient: Thanks.
Source: Ito, Nina and Mefford C. 2011. Take care: Communucating in English with U.S.
Health Care Workers. Michigan: Michigan ELT.

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