Communication: What to do in a crisis

In the second article of a three-part series, health coach Mandy Day-Calder explains how a structured approach to communicating in a crisis can help avoid errors

You probably start most shifts with a work plan based on priorities and available resources. But humans are complicated – sometimes patients’ treatments go according to plan, sometimes they don’t.

The ability to remain calm and communicate well when things go wrong is as quintessential to nursing as a caring nature, but it isn’t always easy. Instead, panic can overtake rational thinking, and what you say or do in haste may not always be what’s best for your patients.

Dealing with any kind of crisis is stressful and this multiplies when someone’s life is potentially in danger. Regardless of how many critical situations you have faced before, the adrenaline surge will set your heart thumping