Communication skills of nurses during interactions with simulated cancer patients

Aim. In this paper the balance of affective and instrumental communication employed by nurses during the admission interview with recently diagnosed c ancer patients was investigated. Rationale. The balance of affective and instrumental communication employed by nurses appears to be important, especially during the admission intervi ew with cancer patients. Methods. For this purpose, admission interviews be tween 53 ward nurses and simulated cancer patients were videotaped and anal ysed using the Roter Interaction Analysis system, in which a distinction is made between instrumental and affective communication. Results. The results reveal that more than 60% of nurses' utterances were o f an instrumental nature. Affective communication occurred, but was more re lated to global affect ratings like giving agreements and paraphrases than to discussing and exploring actively patients feelings by showing empathy, showing concern and optimism. Conclusion. In future, nurses should be systematically provided with (conti nuing) training programmes, in which they learn how to communicate effectiv ely in relation to patients' emotions and feelings, and how to integrate em otional care with practical and medical tasks.