Family Assessment Nursing Communication

Casual conversations in nursing is useful in knowing patients in a healthcare settings although this is not the only thing denoting the nurse-patient relationship. There are various ways in which nurses engage in more efficient and effective communication with families and patients. Communication between the families of the patients and nurses impact the well-being of the patients as well the outcome and quality of nursing care (Bomar, 2004). It is important to assess the style and structure of family with the aim of formulating an effective and efficient care plan. It is important for the nurses to know their patients well and the role they are playing in healthcare and in the long run, will save a lot of time. As the interview was done at the comfort of the patient, a lot ease and openness was realized.

A good family assessment requires the ability to be an active listener and astute observational skills. The assessment data is obtained when the nurses interact with the patients and their families. This paper will discuss family assessment in nursing communication done on a patient. Observation This interview had a broad scope and was used in the identification of the future and the current patient care needs. This environment enabled the patient to voice her problems, concerns and to discover the information within the family that were missing. She identified her maternal grandmother as her biggest emotional supporter and would encourage her on how to carry on with her family duties. According to the patient, if she had a disagreement with her husband, they always try to discuss more until they get to the decision that brings the greatest benefit to both of them (Pruessner et al.

Most of the time they were able to get to the point through long communication. This implied that there was no tension between her and her husband and that they were getting along very well. A critical division of roles was identified between the patient and her husband. It was noted that the husband provided for most of the needs of the family. He was concerned with paying rent, doing monthly shopping for the family, fueling family cars and paying hospital bills/health insurance covers. The patient was concerned with buying groceries in addition to carrying out daily house chores. They attend fun activities together with her husband such as playing golf and watching soccer. The patient was very comfortable at the end of the interview and when she was commended, she responded with a smile and laughter and expressed the desire to establish and keep a very close relationship with her husband and always wanting him to feel comfortable with her as his wife.

She closed the interview by thanking me for taking my time to talk to her and make her feel truly loved, cared for and adored by the best. It is comforting to realize that the family assessment interview is a useful tool that allows the patients and families to communicate with the healthcare team freely and effectively (Bomar, 2004). During the interview, the communication was effective and open. When the interview began with introduction from the nurse, she was more than willing to participate and interact during the interview. For nurses, knowing the communication patterns in this family may assist in the understanding of the healthcare problems. Effective and open communication among members of a family will give them the opportunity to express themselves according, including opening up about their healthcare issues (Bomar, 2004).

From this interview, it was clear that the decision-making role was neither for the husband nor the wife but an agreement between the husband and the wife in this family. She revealed that her family has been able to minimize their distress, improve their health outcomes and well-being, meet their needs and empower one another. The interviewee did a great job in getting to know the family well even though the husband was not present for the interview. This makes family assessment in nursing very important as more on the social life of the patient is analyzed in detail. All the information obtained from a family assessment must be considered and integrated in the care of the patient for better nursing outcomes.