The communication process with ventilator patients in the ICU as perceived by the nursing staff

Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses (n = 27) were interviewed about their experiences and opinions of the communication process with ventilator treated patients. Nurses with limited ICU experience considered the initial contact with a new critically ill ventilated patient more frustrating than experienced nurses. The nurses thought that the content of the communication commonly requested by a patient was dominated by factors related to the clinical condition, prognosis and reassurance that the situation was under control. Factors considered to limit the communication and to create feelings of uncertainty and stress for nurses with an ICU experience of less than 5 years were: work overload, unstable condition of the patient, impaired communication with the patient, and their own personal problems or worries. For nurses with an ICU experience of more than 5 years stress was more commonly evoked by the presence of worried and anxious spouses/relatives, and by the feeling that something was wrong with the patient but they were unable to identify the problem. Failure to understand a ventilated patient could induce feelings of incompetence, stress and sometimes even despair. The present small scale study shows that there are many factors, in addition to ICU experience, that may influence the ability of an ICU nurse to establish and maintain a well functioning communication with ventilated patients and the likelihood of doing so.