Nurses occupy a central position in today’s increasingly collaborative health care teams that place a premium on quality patient care. In this study we examined critical team processes and identified specific nurse—team communication practices that were perceived by team members to enhance patient outcomes. Fifty patient-care team members were interviewed to uncover forms of nurse communication perceived to improve team performance. Using a grounded theory approach and constant comparative analysis, study findings reveal two critical processes nurses contribute to as the most central and consistent members of the health care team: ensuring quality decisions and promoting a synergistic team. Moreover, the findings reveal 15 specific nurse—team communication practices that comprise these processes, and thereby are theorized to improve patient outcomes.
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