From anticipation to confidence: A descriptive qualitative study of new graduate nurse communication with physicians

Abstract

Aim The aim of this study was to understand how new graduate nurses experience communication with physicians. Background Communication is necessary for high‐quality health care delivery. With poor patient outcomes as a driving force, knowledge of the dialogue that occurs between new graduate nurses and physicians has been rarely explored. Methods This qualitative descriptive study involved 13 new graduate nurses from an academic teaching hospital in the south‐eastern United States. Data for this study were collected using face‐to‐face and virtual interviews with a focus on having nurses describe their experience communication with physicians in their current practice. Results Analysis led to four themes that describe new graduate nurses experience communicating with physicians. Those themes were gaps in preparation, developing confidence, learning to communicate, and interprofessional care. Conclusions Effective communication with physicians is a stressor for new graduate nurses as they transition to practice. For these nurses, negative emotions in their anticipation of communicating with physicians were developed during their educational experience. Implications for Nursing Management The findings of this study emphasize the importance of enhanced interprofessional training in education and practice that facilitate effective communication between the two professions in the practice environment.

Exploring communication apprehension in nursing and healthcare education: A scoping review

“…Nurses are required to be well-equipped to handle communication challenges (Scibilia et al, 2022). Forbes III and Evans (2022) found that new graduate nurses felt unprepared for their nursing education programs to communicate with physicians and experienced discomfort and anxiety with communication. In a study of over 3000 nurse leaders, Berkow et al (2009) found that less than 50% of nurse leaders assessed their new graduate nurses as satisfactory in communication with physicians, as a member of an interprofessional team, and in patient advocacy and patient education.…”