Furthermore, because modern nurses function as the
central link of their health care teams and interact with
a wide range of health care providers with varying
needs (Miller & Apker, 2002), it is imperative that
research on nurse–team communication focus on
actual discourse that occurs between nurses and all
team members. Past research tended to focus on
nurse–physician relationships within health care teams
when an understanding of nurse relationships with
non-physician team members is also needed (Poole &
Real, 2003). Ultimately, the more nursing students
understand and practice nurse–team communication
skills, the better equipped they will be to learn the
ropes of their teams and employing organizations