Communication for Nurses : Talking with Patients

From The Critics

Reviewer:Margaret Anna Holder, BSN, MSN, PhD(Navy Medical Support Command)
Description:This book offers concise and direct techniques aimed at improving not only nurse-patient communication but the reader's ability to effectively communicate with a broad spectrum of individuals including peers and supervisors.
Purpose:The purpose is to assist the reader in improving communication skills at a variety of levels. The book offers helpful hints and techniques to improve communication skills for all levels of professional communication, even for experienced practitioners.
Audience:While targeted as an entry-level text to teach patient communication skills, the book is a useful tool for any healthcare provider. It includes particularly pertinent chapters dealing with cultural diversity and patient rights. The case study and exercise format is particularly useful for nursing educators in a classroom or healthcare facility setting.
Features:An easy to follow review of nursing, communication, and developmental theories is provided in the first chapters. These chapters set the stage for exploring a vast array of issues including cultural diversity and patient rights. Issues dealing with specific groups including communication with different age groups and patients in crisis are examined in the case study format. Useful exercises at the end of each chapter reinforce salient points.
Assessment:This short book is one of the most useful communication books currently in print. It is packed with simple to follow, but often forgotten, information for anyone seeking to improve professional communication skills in ahealthcare setting. This book is a pleasant surprise and is a must for all who seek to or need to become better communicators and healthcare providers.

3 Stars from Doody