Objective:

To describe the barriers of interpersonal communication during the transfer of care in the emergency department.

Methodology:

Qualitative, case study, was worked out in the emergency department, observation of care transfers was taken out in the different shifts for ten days and semi-structured interviews. The analysis was developed out by reducing the codes and generating the analysis categories based on the Irvine and Sidani nursing role effectiveness model.

Results:

The data analysis allowed to obtain the following categories: Communication with the patient, the family and between the work team. Meaning of the role of the nursing professional in interpersonal communication and communication strategies for a safe transfer of care.

Conclusions:

The barriers to the good development of care transfer are communication gaps, lack of teamwork, which increases the occurrence of adverse events and sentinel.