This is reflective article I used for my essay. Nursing Standard 29, 14, 53-59: July 18th 2014.  Author: Elaine Bramhall.

This article is about the importance of effective communication skills for nurses. Due to the important information it high lighted about effective communication, it obliged me to use it for my Assessment Guidance A2 essay.

After reading this article I learnt about how effective communication brings about compassionate nursing care. I learnt about the barriers to effective communication  for patients. These are the environment, that is noise and lack of privacy for effective communication to take place. Additionally, fear and anxiety and difficulty in explaining feelings are all barriers to effective communication. Barriers to effective communication for nurses are the high workload, staff conflict and fear of asking difficult questions which may make patient more distressed. I also learnt that to achieve effective communication skills, nurses need to demonstrate active listening and develop on it during preceptorship, supervision and mentorship throughout the nursing career. Asking open questions, using pauses and silence, using minimal prompts, paraphrasing, acknowledging and reflecting are all effective communication skills for nurses to use.

After reading this article I used the information I acquired to assist me in writing my essay that is as reference. Subsequently I practised the information I learnt at my clinical placements. Indeed this article is of great benefit towards my nursing career.

This article is relevant to the NMC Code  Practise effectively and Prioritise people. It talks about communicating  clearly and effectively  using both verbal and non -verbal communication methods to patients, relative and colleagues.  Actively listening to people and responding to their preferences and concerns can also be seen in this article.