Precepting in critical care: Communication and collaboration

Abstract

Well-honed interpersonal and communication skills are essential in an effective preceptorship. Preceptors not only facilitate and develop positive interpersonal relationships between themselves, the preceptee, the patient and family, and the healthcare team, but they have a responsibility to foster and develop the preceptee’s interpersonal and communication skills as well. Doing so is even more important and more challenging in the complex, busy, and often overwhelming critical care environment. This article is the third in a series that aims to support new and experienced critical care nurse preceptors, as they guide those who will become the future of critical care nursing. Effective interpersonal and communication skills are essential to establish any constructive professional relationship in nursing practice, but even more so in the critical care environment due to its fast-paced, highly acute and complex nature. Effective communication skills help build trusting relationships, foster a caring environment, allow greater accuracy and understanding of information and, ultimately, lead to safer patient- and family-centred care (Arnold & Boggs, 2020). Strong interpersonal and communication skills can assist preceptors to be more effective personally and even more so in their role guiding preceptees (Hardie et al., 2022). At the same time, preceptees may have limited experience with communication in clinical practice, particularly in the high-pressure context of an intensive care unit (ICU), and it is the preceptor’s responsibility to assist their preceptees in developing these skills.