Here are some of the best questions for a patient survey about communication with nurses, plus simple tips for crafting them. If you’re looking to build a quality survey, Specific can help you generate one in seconds—no expertise required.
The best open-ended questions for patient surveys about communication with nurses
Open-ended questions let patients tell their story in their own words, which is where real insights live. These are your go-to when you want people to elaborate on experiences, clarify concerns, or suggest improvements. They work especially well early in a survey, or wherever you want to uncover issues you didn’t anticipate—often leading to the most actionable feedback. Plus, research confirms that effective communication between nurses and patients is key: patients who perceive better nurse communication report higher care satisfaction, with bedside shift reports boosting satisfaction scores from 75% to 87.6% in one study. [1]
Can you describe an interaction with a nurse that made you feel especially supported or cared for?
Were there moments you wish the nurse had explained things more clearly? Please describe.
How well did the nurse respond to your questions or concerns during your stay?
What could nurses do differently to improve communication with patients like you?
Can you recall a time when communication with a nurse did not meet your expectations? What happened?
How did nurses help you understand your treatment plan or medications? Please elaborate.
Were there any challenges—such as language or cultural barriers—that made communication with nurses difficult?
Is there anything specific you wish a nurse had told you during your visit?
What advice would you give to nurses to enhance their communication with future patients?
Share any suggestions or ideas you have to improve nurse-patient communication in this facility.
The best single-select multiple-choice questions for patient surveys about communication with nurses
Single-select multiple-choice questions are your tool when you need to quantify opinions or streamline the response process. They’re less intimidating for respondents, especially when a rapid, structured answer gets the ball rolling. Use them if you want to measure how often something happens, gauge overall satisfaction, or identify common pain points—then probe deeper with tailored follow-ups.
Question: How often did you feel the nurse listened carefully to you?
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Question: How clear was the nurse’s explanation of your care or treatment?
Very clear
Somewhat clear
Not clear
Other
Question: Did you experience any barriers communicating with your nurse?
No
Yes—Language barrier
Yes—Cultural misunderstanding
Yes—Other
When to follow up with "why?" Use a follow-up "why" whenever you get a non-ideal or ambiguous response, like choosing "Not clear" above. If someone says "communication was poor," ask, "Why was that?" or "Can you give an example?" This digs beneath surface answers, revealing context or hurdles—sometimes as simple as a language barrier, which studies show can dramatically reduce communication satisfaction by 61%. [3]
When and why to add the "Other" choice? Sometimes, your options won't cover everyone's reality. "Other" lets patients specify unique experiences. Always prompt for details if "Other" is picked: their unexpected perspective may reveal blind spots or unrecognized issues—critical for improving nurse-patient interactions.
NPS-style question for patient communication with nurses
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) asks how likely someone is to recommend a service, using a 0–10 scale. While it’s often used in business, it’s powerful for patient surveys about nurse communication too. It provides a quantifiable metric everyone understands—how many patients are promoters, detractors, or somewhere in between—which is crucial for benchmarking improvement. Want to launch an NPS survey for this topic? Check out our preset NPS survey builder.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are where the magic happens. Asking thoughtful follow-ups helps get at the root of vague feedback—something most forms simply miss. Our automatic AI follow-up questions feature turns a static survey into a real conversation. For example, Specific’s AI asks clarifying questions in real time, just like a human researcher would, so you get both breadth and depth—rich context for every answer.
Patient: “I found communication with the nurse difficult.”
AI follow-up: “Could you share more about what made communication difficult for you?”
How many follow-ups to ask? You usually want 2–3 per question; that’s plenty to dig deep without tiring patients. With Specific, you can tune the number and even let respondents skip if they’ve already shared enough context—see the full details in the AI survey editor.
This makes it a conversational survey: meaning every answer can lead naturally into another question, mimicking real dialog and building rapport without feeling robotic or rigid.
Easy AI-powered analysis: Even if you end up with loads of follow-up responses and rich text data, AI survey response analysis makes it simple to summarize and find insights. Don’t worry about messy long answers—the AI helps you chat with your results and pull actionable themes. Learn more in our article on analyzing patient survey feedback.
Automated follow-up questions are a new concept to most. Try generating a survey on Specific, and you'll see the power and practicality of this approach firsthand.
How to prompt GPT to create great patient communication survey questions
To get the best results from ChatGPT or any AI survey generator, your prompt matters. Start simple, then add detail for richer, more relevant questions.
Begin with:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for patient survey about communication with nurses.
Want sharper results? Add context—who you are, your hospital type, recent patient concerns, your goals, and so on:
I work in a large multicultural hospital aiming to improve patient satisfaction. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a patient survey about communication with nurses, focusing on both strengths and communication barriers. We’re interested in language, empathy, and clarity.
After review, group the questions by theme:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, if a theme matters most—say, “Cultural and language barriers”—ask:
Generate 10 questions for the category “Cultural and language barriers between nurses and patients.”
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys—like those crafted with Specific’s AI survey builder—don’t just collect data, they foster real dialogue. Instead of static forms, they use AI to prompt additional, natural questions as the conversation unfolds. Respondents feel heard, not interrogated, boosting both engagement and response quality. This is a major shift from traditional forms, which can feel dry and robotic—especially when you need nuance.
Manual Survey Creation | AI-generated Survey (with Specific) |
|---|---|
Time-consuming, repetitive to build | Instant to create, using prompts or preset templates |
Rigid, difficult to adapt to feedback | Dynamic and evolves with answers, adding follow-ups as needed |
Surface-level answers | Deeper, contextual insights (AI follows up and clarifies) |
Manual data analysis | Automated, conversational AI-powered analysis |
Why use AI for patient surveys? Because nurse communication is nuanced—and context matters. AI survey examples like those from Specific learn as respondents answer. If a patient shares a concern about language barriers (a proven challenge in healthcare [3]), the AI digs in with clarifying questions for richer context, ensuring the root cause isn’t missed. Results? More relevant, actionable, and as rigorous as your care standards.
If you want to see how easy it is, our guide on how to create patient surveys walks you through every step—from prompt to actionable insights.
Specific is built for best-in-class conversational surveys, ensuring a smooth, mobile-friendly, and genuinely engaging experience for both creators and respondents. AI survey builders like this not only save you time, but help you focus on what matters—delivering outstanding care, backed by actionable insights.
See this communication with nurses survey example now
Explore the difference with a conversational, AI-powered survey—get richer patient feedback, smarter follow-ups, and instant analysis. See what innovative healthcare feedback looks like, and make every patient’s voice count.