Good communication comes in handy a hundred times a day, but in a healthcare setting, it’s a matter of life and death.

Decades of studies have shown a clear and significant correlation between a clinician’s ability to explain, listen, and empathize with biological and functional health outcomes — not to mention patient satisfaction.

With so much on the line, here are a few tips for improving your communication, whether you’re on the computer, in the lab, or on the floor.

Improving Provider-Patient Communication

Considering is forgotten immediately by patients, when they’re discharged from the hospital, you know communication between providers and their patients needs to be better. That’s critical information!

A nurse and young patient exchange a smile and good communication. With clarity in mind, here are a few ways to make sure your expertise is heeded and your patients’ time is respected:

• Make eye contact.
• Avoid medical jargon.
• Position yourself on the patient’s level when talking.

Related resource: A Healthcare Professional’s Guide to Clear Patient Communication

Better Clinical Communication

In the clinical setting, surrounded by nurses, doctors, and administrators, you’ll find communicators of all types. It’s extremely important to maintain clear verbal and written communication between colleagues.

Charting

For most of our graduates, charting is a large part of communication. You’ve probably had the frustration of trying to interpret someone else’s squiggles — er, “notes.” Most healthcare workers have a love-hate relationship with charting. Here’s how to increase the charting love factor:

• Be objective and neutral. Only note what you see, hear, and feel. If information isn’t germane to the patient’s condition, it doesn’t belong in your charting notes.
• Chart right away. Your notes will be more accurate if you write it down as soon as possible after the event occurs. That might not be possible on a busy floor, but if you chart throughout the day, your notes will be more accurate, and you won’t have to do it at the end of your shift!
• Be accurate. The information from your notes will inform how the patient is treated in the future, and might even affect the patient’s outcome. With so much on the line, accuracy is critical.
• Know your facility’s abbreviation policy. If an abbreviation isn’t approved, don’t use it.

Related resource: The Do’s and Don’ts of Charting and Documenting as a New Nurse

Verbal Clinical Communication

The easiest way to promote good verbal communication? Get off your phone. When interacting with doctors, nurses, and other coworkers in a clinical setting, give them your full attention. That means making eye contact — and don’t even think about glancing at your phone during a conversation!

Clarity in the Lab

Communication in a laboratory setting can be inspiring, because it’s between colleagues with common interests working on different projects. Aren’t you curious about what they’re doing?

One way to initiate it? . Almost everyone appreciates being asked for their opinion; it shows respect for the other person’s body of knowledge and demonstrates your own openness to ideas.

Take a daily walk around the lab and ask questions. Stop by the whiteboard, make notes, and ask for ideas. Once you establish regular communication, everyone is more comfortable asking questions when something isn’t clear.

Because people work so closely in a lab environment, they must interact. Take time to learn what communication styles work best for your colleagues. One person might want a cup of coffee in the morning before diving into a conversation, while another might prefer an email. Respecting different styles is key to positive, clear interactions in the lab.

Clear communication and best practices for charting are a large part of a rigorous curriculum in all of our programs. To learn more about nursing, medical assisting, or our other healthcare programs, see our nursing programs page.

Faculty-Developed Model

Our nursing program �ڲ����ܱ��ٲ���developed a model of education that gets away from having students simply memorize facts from textbooks and lectures that will be forgotten once the class is over. Instead, at the center of our framework is the expectation that teachers will deliver information that is relevant, meaningful, and important to the future success of each student. This means utilizing a variety of teaching methods as needed to ensure that our nursing graduates enter the workforce with the needed hard and soft skills.

Experiential Learning

Joyce gives nursing students the ability to develop real, hands-on technical, critical thinking, and leadership skills that they will need to be a great leader in the industry. The use of lab, simulation, and clinical hours are essential for the growth of each future nurse in our program. Additionally, we spend a significant amount of time recruiting the right type of students with the aptitude and temperament to be a nurse. Knowledge can be learned; skills can be taught; the heart cannot.

Learn By Doing Method

If you’re seeking to learn a new skill, here are some tips from the team that knows a thing or two about learning by doing.

Find a mentor

This is an essential component to our education model at Joyce. We assemble outstanding professionals with current clinical knowledge to pass their skills to the next generation.

Fail fast. fix fast.

By definition, students are those who need to learn. Our program gives students a chance to experience failure as well as success. Utilizing our labs and simulators, our students can try new skills in a safe place, where the stakes are low. This way they have the opportunity to apply critical thinking skills without having to fear devastating consequences if they make an error. We learn skills best when we can try them, see the result of our attempts, and continue to practice. If you want to learn a new skill, find a place where you can be brave enough to risk making mistakes.

Set goals

Even quick learners should understand there are no shortcuts to mastering a new skill. Set short, achievable goals that will serve as your guide throughout the process.

Practice

We repeat – practice, Practice, PRACTICE!

Advance

There’s always an opportunity to improve your knowledge and skills. Seek out ways to advance your knowledge and increase your skill set. You’ll grow personally and will become a more valuable asset in the workforce.

A lot of jobs require 12-hour overnight shifts, but nursing is rather infamous for them. Urgent care always has to be available, which is why so many nurses, at some point in their careers, have to work them. If that scares you, don’t worry: It’s usually a choice, and overnight shifts usually pay more, so most nurses pick working either days or nights and stick to that schedule.

This means you may not have to work overnights in your first nursing job, or ever, but you still need to be prepared for these shifts, because they can be tough. Every part of the nursing school curriculum is designed to prepare you to be a nurse, and your clinical is when you gain the real-world experience like working all night on your feet. If your overnight nursing clinical shift is coming up, don’t panic; just follow this advice.

Practice Staying Up—and Sleeping In

If you’re a night owl, your overnight nursing clinical shift might seem like no big deal. Still, staying up till 2am to study isn’t the same as working on your feet for 12 hours through the night. Whatever your normal sleep schedule is, try to push it back a little more in the days leading up to your clinical shift. Don’t totally shift your cycle, since after your overnight shift ends, you’ll return to a (more) normal work schedule. If you can stay up and sleep in even an hour later, it can help.

Other adjustments like going to the gym at night, and doing housework like dishes at 10pm or midnight, rather than when you finish dinner, can also prepare your body for standing and working when it’s usually sleeping.

Sleep, and Nap, Beforehand

On a similar note, get as much rest the day before your shift as possible. Sleep in late that morning, and if you can manage to carve out even half an hour to nap, do. The more you’ve rested, the more energy you’ll have during your shift, even if your body wants to sleep.

Eat Well and Pack Good Food

If you didn’t remember this from elementary school, you’ve already re-learned during nursing school that the food we eat matters—and affects our energy levels. Before your shift begins, eat some high-energy food like vegetables and complex carbs. You should also pack a similarly nutritious meal, because the cafeteria may not be open, and junk food from vending machine can make you sleepier. Eating high-energy snacks throughout your shift will keep your body’s metabolism going and your energy up.

Keep Your Mind Alert

Some nurses suggest wearing a bright digital watch during overnight shifts to stay focused, even when you’re feeling groggy. Some people sing songs to themselves; others engage in conversation every fifteen minutes; and a few nurses take 30-second breaks and use breathing exercises to remain mindful. Whatever works for you, try it. When you feel sleepiness creep in, engage your mind in some way to remain awake.

Don’t Rely on Caffeine

If you’ve pulled an all-nighter before, you know the power of coffee—but you may also remember that as soon as its effects wear off, you crash. That’s a risky method when you’re caring for patients and supporting staff during your overnight clinical shift. If you need a boost, try dark chocolate or a little green tea to supplement more natural efforts at staying awake.

Remember That Tired is Normal

Your clinical supervisor isn’t going to expect you to be as perfectly alert at 5am as other RNs will seem to be. She knows this is practice and experience, so make sure your effort is on your work and assigned tasks rather than fighting off any hint of drowsiness. Most nurses who work overnight shifts have a schedule and rhythm, so they’re used to it. No matter how much you prepare, your overnight nursing clinical shift will be difficult—and that’s normal. As long as you still do your work well, you’ve succeeded.