This guide equips nursing students and professionals with essential communication skills for better patient care. It covers therapeutic communication, cultural competence, and effective strategies for working with diverse patient groups, including children, the elderly, and those with cognitive impairments.

Communication Skills in Nursing Practice
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What you'll learn
Apply therapeutic communication techniques in diverse nursing scenarios.
Improve active listening to enhance nurse-patient interactions.
Develop cultural competence to support effective communication with diverse populations.
Details to know

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November 2026
17 assignments
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There are 16 modules in this course
This module explores the critical role of communication in nursing, covering theoretical frameworks, practical applications, and strategies for effective interpersonal interactions in healthcare settings. Learners will gain insights into how communication influences patient care, team collaboration, and the management of complex patient scenarios.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 23 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- The changing nature of healthcare•6 minutes
- Complex communication•5 minutes
- Application of communication in nursing•7 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Foundations of Effective Communication in Nursing•16 minutes
This module explores the foundational aspects of building and maintaining effective nurse-patient relationships, focusing on empathy, communication, and professional boundaries. It provides insights into key frameworks like Peplau's model and emphasizes the importance of trust in healthcare settings. Learners will gain practical knowledge on how to foster therapeutic interactions.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 20 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Empathy•5 minutes
- Boundaries•6 minutes
- The nurse–patient relationship process•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring the Foundations of Nurse-Patient Interactions•16 minutes
This module explores essential communication strategies and interpersonal techniques used in healthcare settings. Learners will gain insight into understanding and improving professional relationships through concepts like transactional analysis, non-verbal communication, and intervention models. The focus is on developing practical skills for effective and empathetic interactions.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 28 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Strokes•6 minutes
- Non-verbal communication and transactional analysis•4 minutes
- Games and ulterior transactions•5 minutes
- Heron's six-category intervention analysis•6 minutes
- Summary of Heron's model•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Navigating Human Relationships and Communication•16 minutes
This module explores the essential communication skills required for effective patient care, including active listening, questioning techniques, and emotional intelligence. Learners will gain an understanding of how to structure conversations, gather information, and build therapeutic relationships in healthcare settings. The content emphasizes the role of communication in both assessment and information-sharing.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 35 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Asking questions•6 minutes
- Focusing•9 minutes
- Communicating for the assessment of needs•4 minutes
- Emotional intelligence and the therapeutic use of self•5 minutes
- Informing•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Effective Communication Strategies in Patient Interaction•16 minutes
This module delves into the dynamics of group interactions, focusing on roles, structures, and challenges that arise in collaborative settings. Learners will gain insights into how groups function, how to navigate group conflicts, and how to apply effective teamwork strategies in professional environments.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 29 minutes
- Introduction•7 minutes
- Social roles•3 minutes
- When groups go wrong•4 minutes
- Group structures•5 minutes
- Triads•5 minutes
- Patient groups: families•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Group Influence and Professional Collaboration•16 minutes
This module explores the impact of unconscious bias and cultural influences on communication, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and empathy in intercultural interactions. Learners will gain tools to enhance their communication skills in diverse settings and understand how cultural factors shape perception and interaction.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 15 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Influences on our ways of knowing culture•4 minutes
- Limitations or barriers to effective intercultural communication•1 minute
- Challenges of cultural self-awareness•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Exploring Cultural Awareness and Communication Strategies•16 minutes
This module explores key theories and strategies for effective therapeutic communication in nursing, focusing on empathy, patient autonomy, and evidence-based models like Egan's three-stage approach. Learners will analyze the impact of communication styles on patient care and develop practical skills for real-world nursing scenarios.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 38 minutes
- Introduction•3 minutes
- Structuring the nurse–patient encounter•7 minutes
- Egan's three-stage model•4 minutes
- Behaviour change and communication•11 minutes
- Social learning theory•5 minutes
- Summary of behavioural approaches•5 minutes
- Dysfunctional thinking styles•3 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Therapeutic Communication and Patient-Centered Care•16 minutes
This module equips learners with strategies to navigate complex communication challenges in healthcare settings. It covers cultural differences, the use of interpreters, and techniques for managing resistance and aggression. Learners will gain practical insights into improving patient interactions and reducing communication barriers.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 34 minutes
- Introduction•7 minutes
- Cultural difference and using interpreters•4 minutes
- Cultural difference•4 minutes
- Language difference and the use of interpreters•4 minutes
- The informal interpreter•6 minutes
- Resistance•3 minutes
- Dealing with aggression•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Navigating Communication Barriers in Healthcare•16 minutes
This module explores effective health promotion strategies, communication planning, and the role of nurses as role models. It covers how to design and implement health messages that are relevant and readable for patients, as well as how to use nursing assessments to support health communication efforts.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 26 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Nurses as role models in communicating health•4 minutes
- How is health promotion communicated?•5 minutes
- Relevance and readability•7 minutes
- Using nursing assessment to communicate health promotion•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Health Promotion and Effective Communication in Patient Care•16 minutes
This module equips learners with essential communication strategies for academic and professional success, focusing on stress management, effective writing, and structured presentations. It emphasizes clarity, objectivity, and appropriate formatting to enhance professional collaboration and academic performance.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 33 minutes
- Introduction•6 minutes
- Managing stress: using communication skills•8 minutes
- Format of information•5 minutes
- Academic writing: how to get your message across•5 minutes
- Structuring your answer: how to write an essay•5 minutes
- Organisation and planning•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Essential Communication Skills for Healthcare Professionals•16 minutes
This module equips learners with essential communication strategies for high-stress, short-term care settings. It covers techniques for managing conflict, prioritizing patient care, and facilitating effective team collaboration in emergency and acute environments. Learners will gain practical skills for clear and decisive communication in critical healthcare situations.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 31 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Priorities for high-risk patients•6 minutes
- Multi-disciplinary communication•6 minutes
- Dealing with conflict•4 minutes
- Patients with perceptual disturbance or confusion•2 minutes
- Communication skills for emergency situations•2 minutes
- Team communication in an emergency•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Communication in Emergency and Short-Term Care•16 minutes
This module focuses on effective communication strategies for healthcare professionals when interacting with patients who have chronic or long-term health conditions. Learners will explore techniques for breaking difficult news, managing emotional responses like denial, and supporting patients through loss and bereavement. The module also covers practical approaches to self-care and behavioral change using cognitive behavioral therapy.
What's included
1 video5 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
5 readings•Total 31 minutes
- Introduction•10 minutes
- Breaking bad or significant news•5 minutes
- Denial•4 minutes
- Dealing with loss and bereavement•6 minutes
- Self-care and behavioural change•6 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Effective Communication in Chronic Care•16 minutes
This module covers effective communication strategies tailored for interactions with children, young people, and their families. It explores methods to build trust, use appropriate language, and navigate sensitive topics. Learners will gain practical insights into adapting communication styles in various healthcare and community settings.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 31 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- Creative communication•4 minutes
- Fraser guidelines and Gillick competence•5 minutes
- Methods of communication in community settings•4 minutes
- Communicating with the child or young person in hospital•6 minutes
- How young people want to be communicated with•4 minutes
- The vulnerable child or young person•4 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Effective Communication in Healthcare and Family Settings•16 minutes
This module covers effective communication strategies for working with cognitively impaired patients, including assessment techniques, consent considerations, and practical methods for engaging caregivers and patients. Learners will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to adapt communication approaches to support individuals with varying levels of cognitive abilities.
What's included
1 video6 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
6 readings•Total 28 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- What are cognitive impairments?•4 minutes
- Basic assessment of cognitive impairment•7 minutes
- Communication with people with cognitive impairments•4 minutes
- Consent•4 minutes
- Communication techniques for people with severe cognitive impairment•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Effective Communication with Cognitively Impaired Patients•16 minutes
This module explores techniques for engaging patients, fostering motivation, and facilitating behavior change in healthcare settings. It covers models like the Health Belief Model and the Behaviour Change Model, as well as strategies to address relapse, develop discrepancy, and implement brief interventions. Learners will gain practical insights into supporting patients through the stages of change.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
7 readings•Total 36 minutes
- Introduction•5 minutes
- Cues to action – take action (OK, I am ready to make a change)•6 minutes
- Relapse•4 minutes
- Decide what to focus on in the conversation•6 minutes
- Relapse•5 minutes
- How to develop discrepancy•5 minutes
- Brief intervention•5 minutes
1 assignment•Total 16 minutes
- Behavior Change and Motivational Strategies•16 minutes
This module explores effective communication strategies for personal and professional growth, focusing on portfolio development, reflective practice, and the role of supervision in clinical settings. Learners will gain insights into continuous professional development and revalidation processes, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively in healthcare environments.
What's included
1 video4 readings2 assignments
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Overview•1 minute
4 readings•Total 21 minutes
- Introduction•4 minutes
- The student–practice supervisor relationship•6 minutes
- Professional skills development: 'on-the-job' CPD•6 minutes
- Continuing professional development and communication skills•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 80 minutes
- Professional Growth and Communication in Healthcare Practice•16 minutes
- The Communication Skills in Nursing Practice Final Assessment•64 minutes
Instructor

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Chaitanya A.
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