COMM 277 Week 6 Assignment Template:Outline Final Draft

Student Name

Chamberlain University

COMM-277 Interpersonal Communication

Prof. Name

Date

COMM 277 Week 6 Assignment Template:Outline Final Draft

Title of Speech

Finding Confidence Through Patient Handoffs in the Emergency Setting

Presenter: Connor R. Hill
Audience: EMTs, Students, and New Healthcare Providers
School: Chamberlain University College of Nursing
Date: February 7, 2021

General Topic

Verbal Communication

Thesis Statement

The goal is to enhance confidence when delivering patient handoffs by improving three specific areas of communication: eye contact, message clarity, and eliminating unnecessary details.

Introduction: What Is Effective Communication?

Communication, in its most basic form, is the exchange of ideas between individuals. However, effective communication takes this a step further—it ensures the message delivered is accurate, comprehensible, and actionable. A helpful analogy to illustrate ineffective communication is the childhood game “Telephone,” where a message is whispered from one person to another down a line, often resulting in a final message vastly different from the original. This illustrates how easily messages can become distorted without clarification or repetition.

In emergency medicine, particularly as a new EMT, I have struggled with balancing clarity, efficiency, and accuracy in fast-paced, high-stakes environments. Overcoming these challenges requires a shift toward effective communication—an intentional process of ensuring the message is received and understood as intended. I’ve discovered that improving my confidence in patient handoffs relies on refining three areas: making purposeful eye contact, delivering concise and clear information, and avoiding irrelevant details. I will now explore these components in depth.

Body

Main Point #1: Enhancing Eye Contact During Handoffs

Eye contact is a fundamental, yet often overlooked, element of communication. It builds trust, conveys confidence, and ensures engagement with the audience. In the context of emergency medicine, appropriate eye contact reassures the receiving caregiver and enhances the credibility of the message.

Healthcare professionals must learn how to use eye contact appropriately—knowing when to maintain it, when to break it, and how to remain aware of its impact in various clinical settings. A focused gaze during patient handoffs demonstrates attentiveness and professionalism. According to Kessler et al. (2015), medical students who practiced consistent eye contact were perceived as more competent communicators in emergency consultations.

Main Point #2: Speaking Clearly and Concisely

Clear and concise communication is vital when time is limited and decisions must be made quickly. Speaking clearly involves more than just being audible; it includes thoughtful articulation, structured delivery, and purposeful language. When giving a handoff, it’s important to know where to position oneself in the room and to speak directly to the most appropriate recipient.

Enunciation, pacing, and vocabulary selection also affect message clarity. Techniques such as using the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) format can help organize information logically. Troyer and Brady (2020) note that disorganized communication is a leading barrier in EMS-to-hospital transfers. Similarly, Shahid and Thomas (2018) highlight that the SBAR method promotes efficient, error-free handoffs.

Main Point #3: Omitting Unnecessary Information

One of the most common issues in communication is information overload. Providing excessive or irrelevant details can dilute the main message, leading to confusion and inefficiency. In emergency medicine, it’s critical to filter out non-essential data and focus on what the next caregiver needs to know to provide effective care.

The challenge lies in distinguishing between vital and extraneous information. This can be supported by applying communication models like top-down or bottom-up reporting. Friesen et al. (2008) stress that streamlined handoffs reduce cognitive burden for both the sender and receiver, ultimately improving patient safety and provider coordination.

Conclusion

As healthcare professionals, we bear the responsibility of delivering timely, accurate, and effective communication, particularly during patient handoffs. Our communication directly affects patient outcomes, interprofessional collaboration, and even healthcare system efficiency. By practicing meaningful eye contact, speaking with clarity, and trimming unnecessary information, we can transform basic communication into effective communication.

Emphasizing these elements builds confidence not only in ourselves but also in those who rely on us. In high-pressure environments like emergency care, effective handoffs are not just preferred—they are essential.

Visuals Table

Visual #	Description	Purpose	Source
Visual 1	Illustration of effective communication	Supports the definition of communication and its importance	Watts (2016)
Visual 2	Depiction of the Telephone Game	Demonstrates how messages can become distorted	WikiHow (2020)
Visual 3	Photo of eyes in a healthcare setting	Reinforces the significance of eye contact	Kolleshi & Kiess (2020)
Visual 4	Triangular diagram of communication models	Visualizes the top-down and bottom-up approaches	Leonardo (2020)
Visual 5	Image from campaign showing “More is not always better”	Emphasizes the value of limiting excess information	Choosing Wisely Canada

References

Choosing Wisely Canada. (n.d.). More is not always better [Picture of a hotdog with too much mustard]. https://choosingwiselycanada.org/campaign/more-is-not-always-better/

Friesen, M. A., White, S. V., & Byers, J. F. (2008). Handoffs: Implications for nurses. In Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Kessler, C., Tadisina, K., Saks, M., Franzen, D., Woods, R., Banh, K., … Schwartz, A. (2015). The 5Cs of consultation: Training medical students to communicate effectively in the emergency department. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 49(5), 713–721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.05.012

Kolleshi, A., & Kiess, C. (2020). Designing for the “New Normal” in Healthcare [Picture of eyes behind a mask]. UX Collective. https://uxdesign.cc/designing-for-the-newnormal-in-healthcare-7f5c57faed87

COMM 277 Week 6 Assignment Template:Outline Final Draft

Leonardo. (2020). Top-down or bottom-up [Image of triangles]. Leonardo’s Blog. https://blog.chiariglione.org/top-down-or-bottom-up/

Shahid, S., & Thomas, S. (2018). Situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) communication tool for handoff in health care – A narrative review. Safety in Health, 4(7). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40886-018-0073-1

Troyer, L., & Brady, W. (2020). Barriers to effective EMS to emergency department information transfer at patient handover: A systematic review. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 38(7), 1494–1503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.036

Watts, M. (2016). 5 Keys of effective communication in the workplace [Visual of communication strategies]. Independence Plus. https://www.independenceplus.com/5-keys-of-effective-communication-in-the-workplace/

WikiHow. (2020). How to play the Telephone Game [Image of children playing the game]. https://www.wikihow.com/Play-the-Telephone-Game