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More than communication skills: experiences of communication conflict in nursing home nurses
Author(s) -
Tsai HsiuHsin,
Tsai YunFang,
Weng LiChueh,
Chou HsuehFen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/medu.12233
Subject(s) - nursing , psychology , nurse education , mediation , embodied cognition , medicine , sociology , artificial intelligence , computer science , social science
Context Communication conflicts are inevitable in nursing homes. Understanding communication conflicts experienced by practising nurses could provide insights to guide the development of sound communication education programmes. Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses in nursing homes of communication conflict in encounters with nursing home residents and their families in Taiwan. Methods Data were collected from April 2010 to December 2011 through audiotaped, individual, in‐depth interviews with 26 nurses at five nursing homes in Taiwan. Data were analysed according to van Manen's interpretive phenomenological method. Results Data analysis revealed that nurses' experiences of communication conflicts during encounters with nursing home residents and their families could be categorised under three themes: differences in perspectives of nursing home services; differences in views of nurturing health, and mediation between family members and others. Conclusions The findings of this study can be considered by clinical educators and policymakers when designing communication education programmes for nurses and other clinicians. These programmes should include ways to increase nurses' independent thinking in settings in which power differences exist, as well as their cultural sensitivity as embodied in Leininger's culture care theory. These programmes should also include education in telephone communication and alternative methods of communication (e.g. videoconferencing).