Nurse-patient communications

Every day the Accident and Emergency nurse is challenged to listen and talk to suicidal patients, to try and encourage a distressed and battered wife or is asked to give advice and respond to seemingly endless questions. To give effective care, the awareness of the importance of such communications by Accident and Emergency nurses needs to be increased. This paper attempts to give a brief overview of verbal and non-verbal communications and the importance of interpersonal skills in our aim to achieve excellence in care.