Essentials of Nursing Communication
- 1st Edition - April 10, 2026
- Latest edition
- Authors: Joy V. Goldsmith, Elaine Wittenberg, Chiahui Chen, Maryjo Prince-Paul
- Language: English
Build your skills in communication with a scientific, competency-based approach! Essentials of Nursing Communication helps you gain communication knowledge and develop obser… Read more
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Build your skills in communication with a scientific, competency-based approach! Essentials of Nursing Communication helps you gain communication knowledge and develop observable communication skills/behaviors in nursing. This text goes beyond an anecdotal, “soft skills” approach to communication. It integrates the COMFORT model with the concepts and domains of the 2021 AACN Essentials, covering key topics like professionalism, DEI, and person-centered care. Standards and learning objectives for undergraduate nurse communication training are scaffolded across chapters, implementing the gold-standard approach to competency-based learning to help you communicate effectively in today’s nursing practice.
- The four concepts in the 2021 AACN Essentials are integrated throughout the text, covering communication, clinical judgment, compassionate care, and diversity/equity/inclusion; the 10 domains are also included
- Essentials Spotlight graphics depict the junction of the Essentials domains with communication science and related skills
- The COMFORT model — a model created, researched, and applied by the authors — focuses on nurse communication in healthcare, with this acronym standing for: Connect, Options, Making meaning, Family caregivers, Openings, Relating, and Team
- Theory at Work directly applies theory to communication dynamics and challenges in actual nursing contexts
- Communicate with COMFORT integrates the COMFORT model into chapters across the text, linking communication science to the clinical communication practices of the nurse
- Communication Matters Across the Four Spheres of Care describes nursing communication in these four areas: Wellness and Disease Prevention, Chronic Disease Care, Regenerative/Restorative Care, and Hospice/Palliative Care
- Nurse Forward highlights the voices and stories of nurses advancing the field of nursing, elevating the role of the nurse as well as opportunities in leadership
- Self-care content includes reflections from nurses and nursing students
- Learning features reinforce chapter objectives with key terms, competencies, critical thinking engagements, boxed features/callouts, and charts/diagrams
SECTION I Communication and Person‑Centered Care
1 Defining and Understanding Communication in Nursing
2 Science Versus Anecdote
3 Relationship With the Patient
4 A Patient’s Story
SECTION II Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
5 Ethical Communication
6 Cultural Humility
7 Health Literacy
8 Bearing Witness
9 Communication and a Culture of Safety
SECTION III Family and Nurse Communication
10 Communication and the Patient’s Family
11 Communicating With the Family Caregiver in Complex Disease
12 Communicating About Patient Prognosis
SECTION IV Professionalism and Collaboration
13 Communicating About Transitions in Care
14 Communication and Goal‑Concordant Care
15 Working on a Team
16 Evolving Channels of Communication in Nursing
1 Defining and Understanding Communication in Nursing
2 Science Versus Anecdote
3 Relationship With the Patient
4 A Patient’s Story
SECTION II Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
5 Ethical Communication
6 Cultural Humility
7 Health Literacy
8 Bearing Witness
9 Communication and a Culture of Safety
SECTION III Family and Nurse Communication
10 Communication and the Patient’s Family
11 Communicating With the Family Caregiver in Complex Disease
12 Communicating About Patient Prognosis
SECTION IV Professionalism and Collaboration
13 Communicating About Transitions in Care
14 Communication and Goal‑Concordant Care
15 Working on a Team
16 Evolving Channels of Communication in Nursing
- Edition: 1
- Latest edition
- Published: April 10, 2026
- Language: English
JG
Joy V. Goldsmith
Joy V. Goldsmith (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2004) is a Professor of Health Communication at the University of Memphis. Her research engages nurse communication training, health literacy, and family caregiver communication. CommunicateComfort.com, a long-time initiative of Dr. Goldsmith, serves to house and disseminate a range of research interventions and curriculum for healthcare providers. COMFORT training has occurred through nationally funded training courses as well as in healthcare systems, in addition to provider training programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Goldsmith is the co-author of seven books, with the last four published with Oxford University Press. She is a thought leader in nurse communication training and has developed training content for the 2021 AACN Essentials. Along with Dr. Wittenberg (co-author), she has developed Goals of Care in Oncology training program delivered through the Comfort Communication Project to large cancer hospitals.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Department of Communication and Film,University of Memphis, USAEW
Elaine Wittenberg
Elaine Wittenberg (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, 2004) worked with Dr. Goldsmith on the AACN workgroup for the Essentials and has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles on palliative care communication. She is co-author of six books pertaining to palliative care, family communication, and nursing, three of which have been awarded Book of the Year by the National Communication Association. Her research and teaching awards include the 2017 Applied Research Award from the International Communication Association, 2020 Lynn Payer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theory, Practice, and Teaching of Health Communication from the Academy of communication in Healthcare, and the 2020 Bernard J. Brommel Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Family Communication from the National Communication Association.
Affiliations and expertise
Professor, Health Communications,California State University-Los Angeles, USACC
Chiahui Chen
Chiahui (Kate) Chen, PhD, MS, RN, FNP-BC has six years of critical care nursing experience as a registered nurse and has been working as a nurse practitioner in medical and neurological intensive care unit (ICU) for the past ten years. She served as a frontline clinician caring for COVID-19 patients in the ICU and completed her doctoral dissertation on COMFORT training for ICU nurses. Dr. Chen has worked with Wittenberg, Goldsmith, and Prince-Paul for five years on funded projects related to the COMFORT model.
Affiliations and expertise
Assistant Professor, D'Youville University, USAMP
Maryjo Prince-Paul
Maryjo Prince-Paul, PhD, MSN, RN, FPCN, is an experienced hospice and palliative care nurse. Throughout her 30-year career as a nurse and nurse educator, she has researched and promoted the importance of patient-centered communication and end-of-life care, serving as training faculty for End of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and COMFORT communication training programs. She regularly consults with law firms, non-profits, and agencies overseeing palliative care efforts, and currently serves on Ohio End of Life Options Health Care Coalition where she coordinates education initiatives for Ohio nurses. She regularly publishes articles and chapters addressing end-of-life
dynamics, ethics, and communication between nurse and patient.
Affiliations and expertise
Serious Illness Consultant, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA