Support Is Created in Everyday Communication
When new professionals enter working life, they must learn their duties, work under pressure, and find their place in a team. At the same time, though, they begin to take responsibility for work involving patients, clients, and families. In an earlier article on psychological capital, we discussed this transition and considered how PsyCap may support it (Lehtimäki & Susipolku-Jensen, 2026). Newly graduated nurses have described a gap between education and clinical practice, and many have felt overwhelmed during this transition. Although they valued support from colleagues, they also wanted more structured support (See et al., 2023). The present article continues this discussion by focusing more closely on everyday interaction.
Formal orientation will provide an important starting point, but structured support also takes shape in small daily encounters. It can be seen in how questions are asked and received, expectations are explained, and mistakes are discussed. These moments may help new professionals feel heard, understood, and supported (Rosenberg, 2015). They may also create a foundation for asking questions, learning from experience, and gradually finding one’s place in working life.
Sometimes supervisors may see only how a new professional behaves. New professionals might be quiet, defensive, or unsure how to follow an instruction. A supervisor may understand this behaviour as carelessness or resistance. Yet, the new professional may feel afraid, overloaded, or uncertain, or may simply need clearer guidance. Before judging the person, the supervisor should consider what they have actually observed (Rosenberg & Molho, 1998). This may help the supervisor respond to the new professional’s needs instead of reacting only to the visible behaviour.
The supervisor’s response matters because learning is not separate from emotions or interaction. Emotions can affect attention and the mental resources available for learning and completing a task (Hartikainen, 2021). If the situation feels threatening, the new professional may focus more on protecting themselves than on understanding and using the guidance. An impatient response may also make it harder for the new professional to ask another question. In contrast, a calm and respectful conversation may make the situation feel less threatening and help the newcomer express uncertainty, focus on the guidance, and learn from the situation.
If the situation feels threatening, the new professional may focus more on protecting themselves than on understanding and using the guidance.
Supportive conversations require supervisors to have enough time and resources to provide guidance. However, communication cannot replace good orientation, suitable working conditions, or organisational support (Weiste et al., 2025). Against this background, SOTE-Resilience project is developing learning paths, micro-training, workplace mentoring, placements, and AI-supported guidance for students and recent graduates (Tampere University of Applied Sciences, n.d.). These activities may offer practical settings for practising difficult guidance conversations. In such conversations, supervisors need to listen to the newcomer while also explaining professional expectations and responsibilities clearly.
NVC Brings Empathy and Clarity Together
Nonviolent Communication, NVC, combines honest self-expression with empathic listening. In honest self-expression, the supervisor describes their own observations, feelings, needs, and requests. In empathic listening, the supervisor gives the new professional space to describe their experiences, including what they observed, felt, needed, or found difficult. In this way, people can express what matters to them while also trying to understand the other person’s experience (Rosenberg, 2015).
NVC separates four forms of information (Rosenberg & Molho, 1998):
- Observation: What has the speaker observed? The situation is described without judgement or labels.
- Feeling: How does the speaker feel about the situation?
- Need: What important need, value, or concern lies behind this feeling?
- Request: What does the speaker ask the other person to do next?
The need explains why the situation matters to the speaker.
For example, a supervisor might say:
“I did notice that two parts of yesterday’s client record were incomplete [observation]. I feel worried about this [feeling] because complete information is important for safe care [need]. Was there anything about the task that was difficult for you? [empathic listening] Could you go through the instructions with your mentor before your next shift? Afterwards, please explain the main steps to me so that we can check together that the instructions are clear [request and follow-up].”
The supervisor can discuss the problem without using it to describe the person. Supervisors may also need to notice their own reactions before responding. In one small interprofessional study, participants reported greater self-awareness and described NVC as a useful shared language for discussing feelings, and needs (Museux et al., 2016).
NVC should not be used as a fixed formula or as polite wording placed over blame. Even carefully chosen words may sound artificial if the genuine listening is missing. Rosenberg and Molho (1998) placed empathic connection before correction. Understanding the situation may then help the supervisor explain what needs to change and identify what support is needed.
From a Serious Concern to a Shared Plan
When patient safety is involved, safety must come first. Patient safety depends on clear procedures, skilled professionals, and organisational support (World Health Organization, 2021). Once the immediate situation is safe, the supervisor can discuss what happened with the new professional.
In this conversation, listening to the new professional does not mean agreeing with them. It does not make a safety rule optional either. Instead, empathic listening may help the supervisor understand what was unclear and what guidance or practice is needed. Empathy and professional responsibility can therefore be part of the same conversation (Rosenberg & Molho, 1998).
The discussion should lead to a clear plan and follow-up. However, agreeing to review a procedure does not necessarily demonstrate that the new professional understands it. During the follow-up, they can describe the main steps in their own words. The supervisor can then check understanding and give more guidance if needed. Related healthcare guidance also uses this principle to check understanding. However, that guidance was developed for communication with patients and families rather than workplace supervision (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2023).
Simply put, both the new professional and the supervisor have clear responsibilities. The new professional must follow the instructions and ask for help when needed. At the same time, the supervisor must provide guidance and make sure that the instructions are understood. In this way, good supervision may support both safe work and professional learning (Health and Care Professions Council, 2026).
Every Response May Communicate Two Lessons
A supervisor’s response may communicate two different lessons. The first is about the procedure and what needs to change. The second is about whether it feels safe to express uncertainty and ask for help.
Psychological safety has been associated with learning behaviour and interpersonal risk-taking in work teams (Edmondson, 1999). Healthcare research has also connected psychological safety with speaking up, silence, learning, and support (O’Donovan & McAuliffe, 2020). From this perspective, respectful guidance may make it easier for new professionals to express uncertainty and ask for help in the future. In contrast, a humiliating response may make them less willing to speak. However, these studies do not directly establish these effects in the supervision of new professionals.
How NVC Could Support SOTE-Resilience
Within SOTE-Resilience, the authors propose a short structure based on NVC: Connect, Clarify, Support, and Act
- Connect: Listen before drawing conclusions.
- Clarify: Describe what happened and explain what is required.
- Support: Identify the guidance or resources that are needed.
- Act: Agree on a concrete next step and follow-up.
This structure has not yet been tested in SOTE-Resilience. It is not presented as a validated intervention or as a replacement for established supervision, assessment, or safety procedures.
Supervisors and workplace mentors could practice the structure in micro-training. Earlier NVC interventions have used role-play, group exercises, and realistic situations (Kim & Jo, 2022; Museux et al., 2016). A new professional and supervisor could also exchange roles to explore how the same conversation may feel from each perspective.
Mentoring could give new professionals a chance to explain what they are still unsure about. They could describe when asking for help has felt difficult and what support they need. For supervisors, the discussion could include whether expectations were clear, guidance was available, and follow-up took place.
Before correction comes connection, but the conversation must still lead towards responsibility and action.
To prepare for the conversation, supervisors could complete a short reflection exercise. They could write down what they have directly observed, what they may have interpreted, which professional requirements apply, what support might be needed, and what should happen next. This preparation could help them enter the conversation with greater clarity while remaining open to the new professional’s perspective.
Before wider use, the structure should be tested in a small pilot. The pilot should examine the structure’s usefulness and safety. New professionals, supervisors, mentors, and workplace partners could all take part. It could explore whether participants feel supported, understand their roles, and find it easier to ask for help. In addition, the pilot could examine the quality of feedback and participants’ confidence in difficult conversations. Finally, interviews could identify which parts of the structure feel useful, unclear, or unnatural, as well as whether any elements make participants feel pressured.
Conclusion
New professionals need competence, but they should not face difficult situations alone. Support is also created in how questions, uncertainty, and mistakes are received.
NVC may offer supervisors one way to listen before drawing conclusions. Clear feedback and professional responsibilities remain essential. Understanding the situation may help people decide what guidance is needed and what should happen next.
The proposed NVC practices have not yet been tested in SOTE-Resilience. Their usefulness and safety should be evaluated with new professionals, supervisors, mentors, and workplace partners.
Communication alone cannot solve problems caused by poor orientation, lack of time, inadequate staffing, weak leadership, or unsafe working conditions. Support must also be built into the workplace. Before correction comes connection, but the conversation must still lead towards responsibility and action.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Tool: Teach-back.
Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.
Hartikainen, K. M. (2021). Emotion-attention interaction in the right hemisphere. Brain Sciences, 11(8), Article 1006.
Health and Care Professions Council. (2026, March 2). Supervision.
Kim, H. K., & Jo, H. K. (2022). Effects of a nonviolent communication program on nursing students. SAGE Open, 12(3), Article 21582440221096139.
Lehtimäki, T., & Susipolku-Jensen, R. (2026, September 10). Could psychological capital support work-life readiness? TAMKjournal.
Museux, A.-C., Dumont, S., Careau, E., & Milot, É. (2016). Improving interprofessional collaboration: The effect of training in nonviolent communication. Social Work in Health Care, 55(6), 427–439.
O’Donovan, R., & McAuliffe, E. (2020). A systematic review of factors that enable psychological safety in healthcare teams. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 32(4), 240–250.
Rosenberg, M. B. (2015). Nonviolent communication: A language of life (3rd ed.). PuddleDancer Press.
Rosenberg, M. B., & Molho, P. (1998). Nonviolent (empathic) communication for health care providers. Haemophilia, 4(4), 335–340.
See, E. C. W., Koh, S. S. L., Baladram, S., & Shorey, S. (2023). Role transition of newly graduated nurses from nursing students to registered nurses: A qualitative systematic review. Nurse Education Today, 121, Article 105702.
Tampere University of Applied Sciences. (n.d.). SoTe Resilience: Enhancing work readiness and retention in social and health care. Retrieved September 17, 2026, from Soteresilienssi – Työelämävalmiuksia ja pitovoimaa sote-alalle | TAMK
Weiste, E., Korkiakangas, E., Olakivi, A., Raijas, M., Heikura, T., Pelkonen, E., Koivisto, T., & Seppänen, L. (2025). Selvitys keinoista kannustaa alalta poistuneita, työttömiä ja eläkkeellä olevia lähi- ja sairaanhoitajia sekä alan opiskelijoita sosiaali- ja terveysalan työhön [Report on ways to encourage former, unemployed and retired practical and registered nurses and students in the field to work in the healthcare and social welfare sector] (Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriön julkaisuja 2025:8). Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö.
World Health Organization. (2021). Global patient safety action plan 2021–2030: Towards eliminating avoidable harm in health care.
Authors
Toni Lehtimäki
Coach and Senior Lecturer
Proakatemia
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
toni.k.lehtimaki@tuni.fi
ORCID: 0009-0008-3090-5210
His expertise focuses on leadership, coaching, and positive psychology, with a particular interest in sustainable high performance and well-being at work. He is finalizing his PhD.
Riikkaelina Susipolku-Jensen
Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Social Services and Health Care
Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK)
Licensed Psychologist and Occupational Health Psychologist
riikkaelina.susipolku@tuni.fi
ORCID: 0009-0006-9823-4519
Her expertise focuses on brain health, occupational well-being, psychological safety, stress regulation, and affective ergonomics, with a particular interest in sustainable learning and working life. She is especially interested in how individuals, communities, and organisations can be supported through psychologically informed and human-centred practices.
Photo: Adobe Stock