The Power of Soft Skills in the ICU

By Jesse Watts, PA-C | July 05, 2024
Originally published on http://www.healthecareers.com

No one would argue that top-notch technical skills are essential in the ICU. However, there’s increasing awareness of the role that nontechnical interpersonal and cognitive skills play in providing high-quality care and maintaining safety. In the ICU setting where difficult conversations with patients and their families are commonplace and effective teamwork can make the difference between life and death, having a good handle on soft skills is imperative. Let’s take a look at a few of the most important ones you need while navigating the ICU. 

Communication

Effective communication between patients and healthcare providers is related to increased patient satisfaction, treatment adherence, better clinical outcomes, and fewer malpractice claims. It’s also associated with decreased bereavement burden for family members of a deceased patient.  

Anthony Orsini, DO, FAAP, is an ICU physician at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, Florida, and a frequent national speaker on the topic of compassionate communication in healthcare. Orsini believes how we communicate during difficult situations can make the difference between helping someone and making a bad situation worse. “Giving bad news is something that no one ever wants to do. I’ve learned that making a patient experience as least bad as possible has everything to do with communication,” said Orsini.

Orsini urges healthcare providers to get back to the basics by being a relatable person first and a doctor second. “Once you can connect as two relatable people . . . that’s when medicine works its best,” explained Orsini. 

Empathy and Self-Reflection

Patients are not the only ones who benefit when healthcare providers hone these skills. Physicians who display empathy and have self-reflective capacity report greater satisfaction with their work and lower levels of burnout. 

Why then, does medical training not emphasize this? Medical students’ ability to demonstrate empathy dwindles during their years of training because of what is experienced and implicitly taught in medical schools. This is concerning since empathy is essential for successful clinical practice and physicians’ well-being. “At its core, medicine’s about that human-to-human interaction between a patient and a doctor. It’s about the ability to convey compassion . . . But somehow, we got away from that,” said Orsini. 

Teamwork

The multidisciplinary team approach used in the ICU setting requires a variety of different healthcare providers to work together seamlessly. When done effectively, teamwork fosters open communication and promotes a culture of continuous learning and betterment among colleagues. Mortality and morbidity rates decrease in units that initiate programs aimed to boost collaboration skills. 

Everyone on the team should be working toward the same goal: helping the patient. Without teamwork, patient care suffers.

Situational Awareness

In simplest terms, situational awareness is the ability to keep an eye on the big picture while still managing individual issues. It requires perceiving the various elements in the environment, understanding what they mean, and thinking ahead. 

Distraction, failure to recognize a problem, inadequate patient assessment, forgetfulness, and reduced vigilance are all issues that can arise due to lack of situational awareness and can contribute to critical incidents in the ICU. Situational awareness is key for effective decision-making and is one of the most important nontechnical skills for ICU physicians. 

Task Management

The ability to manage resources and organize tasks to achieve goals is the foundation of effective task management. A study review evaluating critical incidents in the ICU setting found the largest majority could be attributed to a disruption in task management. Poor documentation, failure to follow protocols, inadequate training, failure to check equipment, and avoidable delays in diagnosis all fall under task management.  

While medical knowledge forms the foundation of ICU care, soft skills are equally indispensable for success in this challenging environment. From effective communication and empathy to teamwork and task management—these nontechnical skills are essential for delivering optimal patient outcomes and fostering a supportive work environment. 

About the Author:

Jesse Watts, PA-C, is a medical writer and a practicing physician assistant at a dermatology office in the Kansas City area.

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