Three Tips for Communicating with Patients’ Families
By: Sara Buria, MA, MS, BSN, RN, CNOR, CHES
Published: 4/17/2025
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Family members of patients in perioperative settings should be included during key moments of communication, such as teaching moments (e.g., preoperative discussions, discharge instructions) and data collection (e.g., taking surgical and medical history, discussing medications and allergies). Family may be the primary caregivers for the patient and can be an additional source of information.
Communicating with families may feel like a challenge at times. Culture, language, age, bias, and environment are some of the barriers to communicating effectively. Here are three tips to implement when communicating with family.
Three Tips
1. Use “living room” language. Living room language is basic, common, familiar, and casual words one may use at home. Avoid using medical or complex words and terms. For nonmedical populations, this medical terminology can be a different language. Avoid using slang, jargon, and vulgar/foul words. Using this type of language is unprofessional and some terms may be unfamiliar to select populations. Table 1 provides a comparison of medical and living room language.
Table 1. Medical vs. Living Room Language
Medical Language | Living Room Language |
The patient will undergo a laparoscopic cholecystectomy with possible cholangiograms with general anesthesia and a local block. | Jane will be having her gallbladder removed. The surgeon will use small incisions for the surgery. Jane will have medication, so she will not have a lot of pain. |
We need to get a CBC, full chemistry, type and crossmatch, and a urinalysis before the procedure. | Michael will have his blood tested before he has surgery. The tests will check his hemoglobin, electrolytes, and blood type. We will also need to check his urine. When he is ready to pee, it needs to go in this cup. |
The consent states the surgeon will be performing a right eye cataract extraction with phacoemulsification and an intraocular lens implant and goniotomy. | Please tell me in your own words what the surgeon will be doing for you today. (Verify this with the patient, family, and consent form.) |
I need to start an IV for anesthesia access and to follow protocol. | Before your procedure, I need to start an IV, or an intravenous catheter. It is a very small plastic tube that is put in your vein. When I place the IV, it may feel like a bee or bug bite (or use local/cultural terms to describe). This tube will be used to give pain drugs. This IV will also help to give you other drugs or medications you may need to keep you safe. |
| Observe for signs of infection at the sites of incisions and change dressings BID and PRN. | Check for signs of an infection, such as redness, swelling, weeping/drainage, or really bad pain. You will need to check this on your skin where the surgeon made the incision or cut. Change the bandage or the dressing two times a day. This would be in the morning and before you go to bed. Change this bandage as needed too. |
| The surgeon ordered a KUB for you. | The surgeon ordered an x-ray. This test will take a picture of your kidneys, bladder, and the tubes that run from your kidneys to your bladder. |
2. Ensure a quiet environment for conversations. Environmental sounds, lights, and noise cause distractions when communicating. Family members may have limited hearing and sight abilities and having a calm environment will provide a space for more effective communication. Reduce the volume of the television or radio in the room, reduce or increase the lighting, and have doors or curtains closed to reduce additional noise and distractions.
3. Talk slowly and clearly. Speaking too quickly or mumbling words may lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding. Ask family members if they have any questions during the conversation or if something needs to be repeated. When the primary languages of the health care provider and the patient and family are different, ensure an interpreter is available for these conversations. Interpreters are a more reliable source for translating health information between perioperative professionals, patients, and family.
