Summary
Poor collegial relations can cause communication breakdown, staff attrition and difficulties
attracting new nursing staff. Underestimating the potential power of nursing team
relationships means that opportunities to create better working environments and increase
the quality of nursing care can be missed. Previous research on improving collegiality
indicates that professionalism and work satisfaction increases and that staff attrition
decreases. This study explores challenges, strengths and strategies used in nursing
team communication in order to build collegial relationships.
A qualitative approach was employed to gather nurses experiences and discussion of
communication within their nursing teams and a constant comparison method was utilised
for data analysis. A convenience sampling technique was employed to access both Registered
Nurses and Enrolled Nurses to partake in six focus groups. Thirty mostly female nurses
(ratio of 5:1) participated in the study. Inclusion criteria consisted of being a
nurse currently working in acute care settings and the exclusion criteria included
nursing staff currently working in closed specialty units (i.e. intensive care units).
Results revealed three main themes: (1) externalisation and internalisation of nursing
team communication breakdown, (2) the importance of collegiality for retention of
nurses and (3) loss of respect, and civility across the healthcare workplace. A clear
division between hierarchies of nurses was apparent in how nursing team communication
was delivered and managed. Open, respectful and collegial communication is essential
in today's dynamic and complex health environments. The nurses in this study highlighted
how important nursing communication can be to work motivation and how leadership fosters
teamwork.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 04, 2012
Accepted:
April 30,
2012
Received in revised form:
April 21,
2012
Received:
June 11,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
