Healthcare providers have an obligation to communicate clearly and patiently with their patients. While most caregivers would say they entered the profession with a desire to help others, differing opinions, challenging situations, heightened emotions, and complex health problems can make effective communication a challenge. Enhancing patient communication strategies not only helps patients feel more comfortable in the healthcare environment, but it can also decrease misunderstandings and pushback for caregivers as well.
Related CE course: Effective Communication in Healthcare
Challenging patient care situations
When a patient is admitted to the hospital or even schedules an appointment in a clinic, they should be given clear instructions about unit policies and rules. One example that often causes distress for patients and their families is visiting policies. Patients need to be informed about whether visitors are allowed, during what hours, how many, and at what ages. Getting this information out of the way before it becomes a problem is essential.
Healthcare professionals often feel that patients frequently push back on hospital policies. A workaround for this is to be able to explain the reasoning for the rule. Typically, hospitals’ policies are created to keep both patients and caregivers safe. Healthcare professionals should use active listening to hear why the patient disagrees with a rule and explain the rationale empathetically.
Non-compliance
Healthcare professionals often feel frustrated with patients who are labeled as “non-compliant” with their care plan. Patient noncompliance and the frustration professionals feel toward them create massive barriers to forming a therapeutic provider-patient relationship.
Caregivers must understand that non-compliance is almost always a systemic issue rather than a personal failing of the patient. In addressing noncompliance with a care plan, the caregiver should perform a thorough evaluation of the following:
- What is the patient’s understanding of the plan?
- Does the patient understand why the plan is important?
- Have the risks and benefits of the care plan been explained well?
- Does the patient have the resources necessary to follow the care plan, including transportation to appointments, access to a pharmacy, financial resources to pay for care, and social support they need?
Learning about social determinants of health, such as financial stability, educational access and quality, and social and community context, helps caregivers better understand the challenges faced by the patients in their care.
Patient vulnerability
During a vulnerable and scary time in their life, it’s easy to see how a patient may feel intimidated in a healthcare setting. Patients are typically surrounded by healthcare professionals who seem to know more than they do, using words they don’t understand, talking about them instead of to them.
A healthcare professional is responsible for advocating for their patient or helping them advocate for themselves. They should empower patients to speak up and help create a space where they feel safe asking questions and raising concerns. Having patients write down their questions before the doctor comes in, sitting with the patient instead of standing over them, and including them in every conversation are good strategies for helping a patient feel more confident.
Related CE course: Intercultural Competence and Patient-Centered Care
End of life, palliative care, and difficult diagnoses
Healthcare providers often have to deliver difficult news to patients and their families. Being present for these conversations can be distressing and uncomfortable for many people.
The AMA Journal of Ethics suggests that the best way to start these discussions is to ask the patient and their family members what they already know about the condition and the prognosis. From there, they should ask the patient how much information they would like to know. Research reveals that when having difficult discussions, patients and their family members are only able to recall about 20% of the information. It is important to keep things as simple as possible.
Healthcare workers’ perceptions and triggers
Healthcare workers need to understand their patients’ challenges. They must also know that their own biases and triggers can have an impact on patient-nurse communication.
Public perception
Public trust in the healthcare system has declined rapidly in the 2020s. Popular social media influencers tell their followers not to trust doctors. The 2025 political climate has left many people feeling confused or even deliberately misled. Patients have the ability to use artificial intelligence, social media, and search engines to look up health information. While this is generally a good way for people to learn, scientific literature found on a search engine is easy to misinterpret.
Unfortunately, this often puts nurses and caregivers on the defensive. When a patient questions their provider or caregiver, they might be tempted to become defensive or even shut down. This further decreases trust between caregiver and patient and causes a downward spiral.
Giving patients time to ask questions and treating them with respect can go a long way toward rebuilding trust. Nurses must remember that even when their patients are misinformed, they are usually capable adults who are trying to advocate for themselves.
Bias and prejudice
The National Center for Cultural Competence warns healthcare providers that implicit and explicit bias can negatively impact healthcare outcomes in underserved populations.
Even the most well-meaning providers experience bias and prejudice. It is often an unconscious perception, and being more aware of biases is the first step toward correcting them. Every person’s life experiences shape their perceptions and thoughts about different social groups, whether they are aware of them or not.
Teamwork in communication
Good communication requires a collaborative approach, with healthcare professionals being in the best position to facilitate the team coming together. Caregivers should be heavily involved in patient teaching, difficult discussions, explaining hospital policies, and emotionally supporting the patient.
Good communication comes more easily for some people than others. However, it is a skill that can be learned and practiced. The National Institute of Health states that healthcare providers have an obligation to develop good communication skills among themselves and between themselves and their patients.
Healthcare teams can improve communication by assessing:
- The patient’s understanding and readiness to learn
- Whether the message was received in the way it was intended
- How does the entire team come together to support the patient
- What biases or prejudices may impact communication and understanding
