Recognize cultural differences in communicating with patients and their families.
People in some cultures do not ask questions for fear of imposing on others (Huber, 2009). Some cultures prefer interpreters from their own culture; others do not. Cultural education for the staff can help identify some of these differences and teach them appro- priate, culturally sensitive responses (Raingruber et al., 2010).
Collaborative Communication Collaboration is central to patient safety, according to a study by Vitalsmarts™ (Maxfield et al., 2005). The researchers found seven areas where health care workers found it difficult to speak up, including seeing colleagues make mistakes, perform incompetently, disrespect others, break rules, fail to support colleagues, exhibit poor teamwork, or micromanage inappropriately.