ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the importance of communication skills as a central aspect of the nursing assessment and management of patients and families receiving palliative care. It suggests that additional specific training is required if therapeutic outcomes are to be optimised. The chapter uses the term 'therapeutic communication' to refer to the conscious, deliberate, and purposeful use of verbal and non verbal communication skills within the nurse-patient interaction to assess problems, attend to emotional cues, and elicit patient concerns. In a study of palliative-care nurse training, Heaven and Maguire found that 60" of patient concerns remained undisclosed. Patients with more psychological distress were even less likely to disclose concerns. Confusion about what patients want to know about their diagnosis and treatment has also affected communication. The chapter describes a comparison of initial self-evaluation and self-evaluation and provides a useful basis for implementing a plan to improve the essential skills of therapeutic communication.
