Credibility
The second communication skill set, credibility, encapsulates
how professional nurses display their proficiency
in the wide-ranging work relationships that comprise
the health care team. Our interviews revealed three
behaviors within this skill area. First, those interviewed
said that nurses establish and maintain their professionalism
by speaking credibly and avoiding jargon or vague
terminology. Two quotes from the same doctor provide
illustrative comments on this characteristic. In identifying
characteristics of nurses who lack professionalism,
the doctor said, bThe nurse who is ambiguous, insecure,
maybe not confident that a problem exists, or pretty
sure that a problem exists but can’t relay that information
properly is really [a person] you don’t want to be in
the room.Q The doctor added that bvery precise, accurate
use of medical terminologyQ is an essential quality of a
nursing professional.
Second, in the opinion of interviewees, nurses
effectively display credibility when they adjust their
communication style according to the varied roles,
personalities, and situational circumstances that typify
team-based health care delivery. For example, a nurse
provided this story about a peer whose professionalism
she admired:
She’s the team leader and she not only has to be