Communication and socialisation (1): An exploratory study and explanation for nurse-patient communication in an ITU

This exploratory study was designed to determine the state of communication between conscious, intubated and orientated patients, and nurses in an intensive therapy unit (ITU) and the factors that influence this communication. The aim was to determine whether nurses are able to identify the needs and problems of their patients. This was done by examining characteristics of nurse-patient interactions through participant observation, and exploring nurses' attitudes and knowledge of communication and the nursing process. Dissatisfaction with the nursing process and continual difficulty in communicating with conscious intubated patients by ITU colleagues was the stimulus to investigate the state of nurse-patient communication in the unit where the researcher works. In this paper critical evaluation of previous studies of nurse-patient communication in ITUs is followed by presentation of results of the observations and interviews in this study. The discussion that follows focuses on the socialisation of nurses in 'becoming' ITU nurses related to Bradby's (1990) interpretation of status passage, and the effect that this has on the way in which they communicate.