Adequate and useful communication plays a pivotal role in healthcare world Excellent

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Adequate and useful communication plays a pivotal role in healthcare world. Excellent communication skills are vital for nurses who are regularly engaged in conveying critical patient information to other healthcare professionals. Communication breakdowns are one of the leading causes of medical errors. In a root cause analysis of over 4,000 adverse events, 70% of continual events were caused by communication breakdowns. The communication tool SBAR (situation, background, assessment and recommendation) is developed to increase handover quality and patient safety. Handoffs are important elements of clinical practice, yet not much research is available regarding what constitutes best practice. Communication during a handoff from one healthcare provider to another shouldn’t be a summary indicating his/her sole responsibility, but it should be a coordinated effort among all healthcare professionals involved in the patient care.KeywordsNursing leadership, communication, handoffs, shift change.Nursing Leadership and CommunicationThe literature shows that nurses and physicians are taught different communication styles in their educational programs. Nurses are taught to be very detailed and descriptive in their conversations, but not to “medically” diagnose the problem or situation. Physicians express themselves in brief statements, providing only the specific facts (Haig, Sutton, & Whittington, 2006). Changing communication processes requires a re-learning process. Reflective practice of the previous written handoffs has been considered as an effective learning tool to improve the quality of handoff communication (Clancy,2008).The role of nursing leadersIt is important to remember the checklists and protocols to display good leadership skills. Leaders must be aware that protocols and checklists do not address other risk factors, such as professional disrespect or shortcuts and workarounds (Maxfield, Grenny, McMillan and Patterson, 2005). Nurse leaders play a critical role in implementing processes that help to clearly define the transfer of responsibility from one healthcare provider to another and standardize the communication process. The promotion of a standardized reporting tool, such as SBAR, must come from the leadership team. The greatest obstacles to effective handoffs are non-monitoring from key leaders, nonadherence, and lack of knowledge to some extent. The leadership team serves as role model or mentors to their staff through regular educational sessions. In past instances the primary focus has been on communication styles rather than the relationship aspect of handoffs. However, to communicate effectively, providers also need to have a working relationship that’s built on trust with the individuals involved in the transfer. When leadership teams have strong communication and collaboration strategies it helps in• Providing positive workplace environment• Effective communication between healthcare team• Efficient teamwork and overall satisfaction• Patient safety and positive outcomes. Nursing leaders need to empower nurses, physicians, and staff to be proactive with communication and collaboration to facilitate positive patient outcomes throughout the healthcare continuum (Wheeler, 2015). Communication is central to leadership in healthcare profession as it is known that clear communication is necessary for entire health care team to foster a collaborative work environment and good interpersonal relationships.