IDEAL: Patient & Family Centered Communication

Diane Hartley, RN, BSN, MSN, Director Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Executive
Rhonda Berndt, Clinical Manager, Oakwood Annapolis Hospital

Patient centered communication is a basic component of nursing, and it facilitates the development of a positive nurse-patient relationship which results in the delivery of quality nursing care. During this session, participants will be taught about a patient and family centered communication model which they may utilize in their own facilities to improve the Communication with Nurses dimension of the HCAHPS survey. We will then explore the relationship between effective nursing communication and patients’ satisfaction with their overall hospital experience. Data supports that when health care facilities aim their improvement efforts on the Communication with Nurses dimension a corresponding improvement in other HCAHPS dimensions will occur. Participants will learn the key components of implementing a skills lab which can be used to validate staff competency in the use of this model of patient and family centered communication.