AAP Voices Blog

The Critical Need for Effective Communication in Pediatrics to Shape the Best World Possible for our Patients 

The child was scheduled for a routine surgery procedure. As I went to greet the family, the admitting nurse stopped me to report the child had ingested something too recently for anesthesia. This can cause potential issues because if the patient regurgitates during surgery, this could become a choking hazard. When I entered the room, I saw the child drinking from a bottle.

The mother looked puzzled when I explained the issue. She pulled out the preoperative instruction sheet she had received, which read, “Do not feed your child before arriving at the hospital.” She had followed the directions exactly as written and done everything right, yet our communication had failed her. We apologized and immediately revised the paperwork to state the intended fasting guidelines clearly.

It was a simple but powerful reminder that even minor lapses in communication can have significant consequences—and that clarity is as important as accuracy in patient care.

In pediatric healthcare, every word matters.

From the first consult to the final follow-up , from the imaging suite to the operating room table, communication is the invisible force that drives outcomes, builds trust, and fuels progress. For surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, and oral health providers, communication is not an optional soft skill. It is foundational to clinical excellence and professional integrity.

While each field brings unique knowledge and technical expertise, our shared mission is centered on a single goal: the well-being of children. Achieving that goal requires communication that is developmentally appropriate, interprofessionally fluent, family-centered, and strategically aligned with the system. It must work across silos, span institutions, and reach from the local clinic to the national stage. In short, communication is the thread that connects us all.

Children, especially those who are ill, scared, or nonverbal, challenge us to communicate in ways that go beyond simply using standard medical language. Our ability to connect can shape both their cooperation and long-term emotional experience with healthcare. This is not trivial. Studies show that early traumatic healthcare experiences can lead to medical avoidance, procedural anxiety, and increased risk of poor outcomes in adulthood.

Effective communication with children involves tuning into their developmental stages, utilizing play or storytelling, and translating complex procedures into clear, reassuring language. Equally vital is how we speak with their families. Whether explaining a life-threatening diagnosis, obtaining informed consent, or delivering updates after a procedure, we must navigate emotion, uncertainty, and hope. Families remember how we made them feel just as much as what we said.

Clear, compassionate communication can reduce parental stress, increase compliance with care plans, and enhance shared decision-making. In contrast, poor communication is associated with medical errors, complaints, and even litigation. Culturally competent, trauma-informed, and language-accessible conversations are not only ethical, but they are also essential.

Innovative care plans can fail due to a lack of clear and timely communication among the care team. We depend on each other’s input to make informed decisions quickly. A missed imaging finding, an unspoken airway concern, or a misunderstood surgical plan can lead to avoidable complications. For example, a radiologist may identify an incidental but urgent finding during imaging for a routine case. Communicating that promptly to the surgical team requires both technical clarity and an understanding of workflow. 

Unfortunately, communication failures remain one of the leading causes of preventable harm in hospitals. Structured tools - such as preoperative timeouts and multidisciplinary rounds - are evidence-based methods to reduce miscommunication. However, these tools only work in cultures where mutual respect, psychological safety, and shared accountability are nurtured.

In teaching hospitals, we must also model good communication for our trainees, demonstrating how to deliver a page, write a consult note, or engaging in a difficult conversation in the middle of the night with clarity and professionalism. These habits, once formed, ripple across generations of care.

Regional communication also plays a vital role in public health. Pediatric oral health providers may be among the first to identify abuse or neglect while pediatric anesthesiologists and radiologists may detect signs of chronic illness or missed primary care opportunities during procedural workups. Sharing these concerns across systems requires vigilance and a strong ethical foundation.

We also serve as public messengers in our work with local schools, town meetings, and health departments where we are often seen as trusted community voices. How we communicate —calmly, clearly, and accurately—builds or erodes that trust.

At the national level, communication is an instrument of advocacy. Through the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), we have a powerful platform to advance child health across legislative, regulatory, and societal spheres to ensure our unique voices are part of shaping national priorities.

Over the past year, AAP leadership has worked tirelessly to strengthen communication channels both internally, among members, and externally with the public, policymakers, and the press. These efforts have been particularly critical as pediatricians and subspecialists have faced a growing number of high-stakes advocacy issues, including rising vaccine hesitancy, erosion of trust in science, proposed Medicaid cuts, and threats to children's access to comprehensive care. Clear, consistent, and unified messaging has never been more essential.

AAP’s national leadership has responded to our concerns with increased support wherever they can. For example, communication toolkits designed to help members respond locally have been created along with national campaigns platforming our voices speaking on behalf of children. 

Policies aren't moved solely by press releases but also require work from each of us to be successful. We each can communicate with impact by writing op-eds, joining a legislative call, or serving on an AAP committee.

Elevating communication across all levels of our work requires introspection. Are we listening as well as speaking? Are we checking our assumptions, especially in cross-disciplinary or cross-cultural interactions? Are we creating an environment that allows all team members and patients to speak up? Communication is not just about transmitting information; it’s also about building relationships, clarifying context, and sharing understanding.

Improving communication also requires practice. Investing in communication training - whether through simulation, debriefing workshops, or feedback tools - should be part of every department’s quality and safety efforts.

As pediatric specialists, we have the privilege—and the responsibility—of shaping some of the most critical moments in a child’s life. We owe it to our patients, to each other, and to our profession to treat communication not as background noise, but as central to our craft.

Let us nurture, model, and advocate for it—locally, regionally, and nationally because when we communicate well, children thrive.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the American Academy of Pediatrics.