How does what we believe affect how we communicate?

How does what we believe affect how we communicate? How does religious belief intersect with professional life, especially when the profession is health care? These questions piqued my interest in 2005 and I had the opportunity to explore them as I pursued my Master of Arts degree in communication at Marquette University. I defended my thesis and graduated in 2006. But I still had more to learn and to share, so I took my thesis research on the road. I presented my findings at the International Conference for Communication in Healthcare in 2007, and then began the process of submission, rejection, revision and resubmission to get my thesis research published. The result was a more refined look at the question that first caught my attention: How does what we believe affect how we communicate? In the survey, I found that a nurse's religious beliefs can enhance the clinical experience without the nurse trying to impose his or her beliefs on the patient, as the nurse works to make sure the patient's religious beliefs are upheld.

The article has been accepted for publication in Patient Education and Counseling. You can find the article here. If you do not have access to an academic library and would like to check out the article, please let me know.