Effective Nursing Communication and Cultural Safety Assessment Guide

General Instructions

This task requires you to respond to a series of questions and case studies. In responding you must use your own words and reference where you have located the information.

An overview of all Assessment Tasks relevant to this unit is located in the Unit Study Guide.

1. What is the aim of the Communicating for Safety Standard as outlined in the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards?
2. What is the purpose of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM)?

Scenario 1 (Mr Barney). Relates to questions 

Mr Allen Barney is an 82-year-old man of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decent, living in Queensland. He has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and right-sided weakness and impaired thought processes (cognitive impairment) from a Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke).

He mainly speaks Aboriginal English but can speak and understand general English reasonably well.

He is partially deaf and wears hearing aids in both ears, he also has low vision and wears glasses.

He previously lived at home with his wife. However, due to a deterioration in his condition he has recently been admitted to Parklands Nursing Home as his wife was struggling to look after him.

Allen has a son called Michael who lives interstate.

Mr Barney is reviewed regularly at the facility by his treating Doctor and Physiotherapist.

1. Provide three (3) systems or process the Communication for Safety Standard outlines to ensure effective communication during Mr Barney’s care.
2. Provide three (3) principles relating to cultural safety that you can apply to the care of Mr Barney.
3. Outline three (3) strategies you can use to ensure that your communication with Mr Barney is culturally appropriate.

Scenario 1 (Mr Barney) continued:

Mrs Barney speaks Aboriginal English, she indicates through her communication with staff that she feels a little confused as to what is happening with her husband’s ongoing care and health issues and would like to arrange a meeting to discuss this.

To assist with this meeting and to ensure cultural safety, Mrs barney would like the local Aboriginal Liaison person ( interpreter) to attend the meeting to help with communicating medical terminology.

6 a. Provide information on where you would find access to an Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer located in Queensland, and state one (1) ways they support families.

6 b. Provide three (3) guidelines that can be used for non - English or limited -English speaking clients when there is an interpreter available.

1. How can you make Mr Barney feel comfortable, using appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication? Answer the questions below.

Discuss two (2) non-verbal communication skills that would be appropriate to use with Mr Barney

1. Discuss two (2) ways you can use communication to foster trust from Mr Barney.
2. Discuss two (2) ways you can safeguard Mr Barney’s privacy and confidentially?

Answer the following questions:

Provide three (3) ways you can facilitate communicate for Mr Barney in regards to his cognitive and physical impairment.

Provide three (3) ways communication with Mr Barney may be inhibited due to his cognitive and physical impairment.

1. List three (3) strategies you may use to aid communication with Mr Barney in regards to his vision and hearing impairments.
2. Discuss two (2) ways self-reflection can help develop effective communication skills between you and Mr Barney.
3. Discuss three (3) ways you can create an environment that aids therapeutic communication for Mr Barney as well as other clients.
4. Discuss two (2) benefits of Social Conversation that you can use to get to know Mr Barney and other clients better.

Scenario 2 (Mrs Gills). Relates to questions 

Mrs Mary Gills is an 84-year-old woman, who was recently admitted to The Golden Days Nursing Home where you work. Mary has Parkinson’s disease and early-stage Parkinson’s dementia. She also has low vision and is hard of hearing and wears glasses and hearing aids in both ears. Steven is Mary’s son and her sole support person.

During your shift you walk past Mrs Gills room at 0800hrs and discover that she has fallen out of the bed onto the floor where she is crying quietly and trying to get up. You assist Mrs Gill onto a chair as she keeps saying over and over, “I’m alright”.

Mary’s doctor was informed as she would need a medical review, and a physical assessment was conducted by the Registered Nurse, no physical injuries noted.

You are also required to complete an incident form and follow up with a risk assessment.

After following facility procedure for this incident, you are then to discuss this with the patient and the son, your supervisor will be with you during this discussion.

1. Provide a definition of ‘open disclosure’ and discuss the principles of open disclosure referring to the Australian Open Disclosure Framework (2013)

Provide five (5) principles of open disclosure

Provide three (3) considerations that are used during the open disclosure process.

Scenario 2 (Mrs Mary Gills) continued:

You are to provide a clinical handover to the Registered Nurse in regards to Mrs Gill.

1. Using the ISBAR communication tool, provide an example of what information you would provide regarding the incident and actions you have taken. Ensure that you use appropriate terminology.

Scenario 2 (Mrs Mary Gills) continued:

Steve, Mary’s son, will be traveling overseas for the next few weeks and will not have telephone access. He has asked if you could email him to provide him with a progress report on his mother.

1. Identify five (5) factors relating to email etiquette you will need to adhere to when emailing clients or other staff members from your workplace.

Scenario 2 (Mrs Mary Gills) continued:

The Nursing home where Mrs Gill lives, keeps their patient records electronically and not paper based.

1. From a legal and ethical viewpoint, how may a health care facility keep their electronic records private and confidential. Identify two (2) methods.

Scenario 3 (Steven Mayfair) Relates to questions 19 and 20

Steven Mayfair (identifies as he) is 38yrs old and in the rehabilitation, ward recovering from a motorbike accident where he damaged both his legs. He is learning to walk again after extensive surgery and hospital time. He is often withdrawn and difficult to talk to at times.

1. To facilitate effective communication with Steven, answer the following in regards to open and closed methods of communication.
2. Define the term ‘Active Listening’ and provide three (3) examples how this could be used when communicating with Steven.

Scenario 4 – Relates to questions 21 - 24

You are working as an Enrolled Nurse in a surgical ward, on your break you check your social media account and notice that one of your work colleagues, who is a friend of yours and working the same shift, has posted some information relating to one of the young clients in the unit who has had a bad accident that was in the media.

1. State four (4) ways you can meet your obligations as a registered health practitioner when using social media as per the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) social media guidelines.
2. You are required to be an advocate for this person who has been put on social media.

Identify three reasons why advocacy is important to nursing

Scenario 4 – continued

You need to speak to your colleague about this social media post. You recognise this is an unacceptable situation and a breach of the client’s privacy.

1. Describe three (3) strategies you could use to deliver a constructive outcome when providing feedback to your colleague who had posted on social media.
2. Identify three (3) principles for receiving feedback to improve your professional performance, when speaking to colleagues and clients?

General Questions - Relate to Questions

1. Identify eight (8) legal obligations that you must apply to your documentation practices.
2. Outline three (3) reasons why interviewing skills are valuable for the nurse to obtain a client’s history.
3. The table below identifies three (3) ways to approach conflict resolution and negotiate solutions.

Discuss what each one means:

You are a nurse who is responsible for organizing an International Nurses Day celebration for the large multipurpose medical centre you work in. You are to get a small group of other staff members together to help organise. You have a small budget from the organisation and 5 weeks to decide what to do. You will be conducting weekly meetings for the next 4 weeks.

Mentor Guidance

Step 1: Understanding the Aim

The mentor began by explaining that the assessment focuses on practical communication in nursing, linking theory (NSQHS, cultural safety, open disclosure) with real-life case studies.

Step 2: Breaking Down Scenarios

• For Mr. Barney, the mentor guided the student to first analyse cultural safety needs, then link to communication strategies (verbal, non-verbal, trust building).

• For Mrs. Gills, emphasis was placed on open disclosure principles, ISBAR structured handover, and legal/ethical issues with electronic records.

• For Steven Mayfair, the mentor encouraged practice of open vs closed questions, and active listening techniques.

• For Scenario 4, the mentor highlighted social media responsibilities, advocacy, and professional feedback strategies.

Step 3: Linking to Standards and Guidelines
Students were guided to use:

• NSQHS Standards for communication and safety.

• AHPRA guidelines for confidentiality and social media.

• CATSINaM frameworks for cultural safety in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander care.

Step 4: Applying Critical Thinking

The mentor asked the student to explain why each strategy is important—not just list them. Example: “Why does open disclosure build trust with families?”

Step 5: Writing the Responses
The mentor recommended writing in clear paragraphs with academic references, avoiding bullet points where the task required narrative responses.

Step 6: Reflection and Professionalism

The student was encouraged to use self-reflection to link the scenarios with their own nursing practice, particularly in building trust and therapeutic communication.

Final Outcome

By following this process, the student:

• Completed answers that addressed all scenarios and general questions.

• Showed understanding of cultural competence, communication, open disclosure, and ethical nursing practice.

• Learned how to apply theoretical frameworks to real-world nursing situations.

• Improved their ability to structure responses with evidence-based support.

Learning Objectives Covered

• Application of NSQHS safety standards in communication.

• Integration of cultural safety principles in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander care.

• Mastery of therapeutic communication skills (verbal, non-verbal, active listening).

• Understanding of open disclosure and ISBAR handover.

• Recognition of legal and ethical obligations in documentation and confidentiality.

• Development of advocacy, feedback, and conflict resolution skills.

• Building capacity for professional reflection and teamwork.

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