Communicating uncertainty means being clear about the limits of available information while explaining the next useful step. For nurses, this often includes separating an unanswered question from a confirmed finding and identifying who will follow up.
CDC's Clear Communication Index recommends acknowledging uncertainty in data, findings, recommendations and action steps. It also explains that scientific knowledge evolves, so recommendations may change as evidence develops.
Identify what kind of uncertainty is present
Before answering, clarify the question. Consider three possibilities:
- Information is pending: a result or clinical review has not yet been completed.
- The answer is outside your available information or role: another clinician needs to explain it.
- The evidence has limits: even informed estimates cannot settle every individual outcome.
This is a practical way to organize a conversation, not a formal diagnostic classification. More than one may apply.
Naming the gap helps avoid a vague response such as “We will see.” It also avoids treating every unknown as though someone simply forgot to provide an answer.
Describe group estimates honestly
The National Cancer Institute explains that survival statistics describe groups of people and cannot predict exactly what will happen to one person. It also recognizes that patients differ in how much prognosis information they want.
In an oncology conversation, ask what the patient wants to understand and arrange discussion with the clinician who can explain the estimate in context. Do not convert a population statistic into a guaranteed personal timeline.
The same communication discipline applies when presenting an estimate: identify its source and limits, then avoid claiming more precision than the evidence supports. This page does not supply a method for estimating prognosis.
Pair an honest limit with a next step
In this fictional scenario, a patient asks what a pending test will show. A nurse could say: “The result is not available yet. I cannot tell you what it will show. The plan is for the ordering team to review it and explain what it means.”
Then clarify the actual follow-up arrangement: which team, which contact route and what timeframe has been established. Use only verified service information. Do not promise a result by a particular hour unless that timing has been confirmed.
If no follow-up plan is apparent, raise that gap with the responsible team. A carefully worded uncertainty statement should not leave a practical task ownerless.
Check what the patient heard
Ask which question remains most important and whether the patient wants more explanation of the next step. Acknowledge concern without adding unsupported reassurance such as “It will definitely be fine.”
When documenting, distinguish a pending item, a confirmed fact, an estimate and a question sent for review. Record the agreed communication plan so another team member can continue it accurately.
Related topics include risk communication, shared decision-making and responding to health misinformation. Uncertainty should be described precisely; it should not be filled with an invented answer.
Sources
- Clear Communication Index: State of the Science (accessed 2026-09-17) — CDC.
- Understanding Cancer Prognosis (accessed 2026-09-17) — National Cancer Institute.