A Psychological Technique Every Nurse Needs in Their Toolbox

This 3-step framework is a must-have for nurses who provide direct patient care.

Updated June 3, 2026 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

A Problem and an Opportunity

Nurses garner more public trust among Americans than any other group of professionals and provide a large proportion of direct patient care. 1,2 Even so, patients may not adhere to nurses’ medical and lifestyle recommendations. Indeed, unless patients are highly motivated, they may tune out or resist such medical advice, or agree but then fail to follow through.

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a research-backed communication approach that evokes a patient’s intrinsic motivation and can help them resolve ambivalence and move towards positive change. 3 I’ve witnessed its efficacy first-hand in my clinical practice, but don’t just take it from me: Peer-reviewed studies and meta-analyses show that an MI-consistent approach is associated with improvements in medical adherence, lifestyle behavior change, patient satisfaction, and even medical outcomes. 4,5

After training thousands of nurses and other healthcare professionals in MI, I’ve found that one technique in particular, called Ask—Offer—Ask , consistently ranks among the most helpful tools. Ask—Offer—Ask allows nurses to discover what a patient already knows about a topic and then offer targeted information (including corrective information) in small, manageable chunks. The result is a flowing nurse-patient dialogue that inspires cooperation and decreases resistance.

Interested? Here’s how to do it.

This step actually has three parts:

Offer the information (including any corrective information). Be mindful of not slipping into a monologue; instead, share the information in small, digestible batches.

Why this works: Offering targeted information rather than a long lecture helps the patient absorb and respond meaningfully to what the nurse is communicating.

Ask the patient what they think about the information.

Why this works: It invites a dialogue and communicates interest in the patient’s questions and reactions.

Applying the Ask—Offer—Ask framework is often an iterative process: for example, depending on the patient’s response to Step 3, the nurse may loop back to Step 1, and so on. When nurses move fluidly through these steps, voilà— collaborative care.

Now that you’ve got the gist, let’s see how it looks in practice: 6

Nurse : Can you tell me what you already know about the effects of e-cigarettes on your health?

Patient : Well, I heard that they're pretty safe, especially compared to regular cigarettes. At least I don’t use those.

Nurse : Got it. You’ve heard that e-cigarettes are a better option than traditional cigarettes, which you avoid. And you’re right that aerosols in e-cigarettes don’t have all the same contaminants that we see in tobacco smoke. However, there are still a number of significant health risks with e-cigs. Would it be okay if I shared a little information about those?

Patient : Um, sure, I guess.

Nurse : So e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which as you may know is highly addictive, and some e-cigs have even more nicotine than traditional cigarettes. So that’s one downside to them. Another is that the vapor from e-cigs contains chemicals and heavy metals that have the potential to cause cancer. That’s usually a longer-term risk. But even in the short term, e-cigs have been linked to thousands of cases of serious lung injury. I wonder what you think about this, or if any questions come to your mind?

Patient : Hmmm. I mean, obviously that doesn’t sound good. And I think I heard about that lung thing you mentioned on social media .

Nurse : Interesting that you’ve heard something about the lung injury cases. Can you tell me a bit more about what you’ve heard? (Looping back to Step 1 with Ask.)

MI is a research-backed communication approach that can be adopted by nurses and other healthcare professionals to improve patient adherence and satisfaction and, in some cases, even medical outcomes. Ask—Offer—Ask is a specific MI technique that is particularly effective for softening resistance when sharing recommendations. For direct care nurses, who are uniquely positioned to provide medical information and advice, it can be a game-changer.

Institute of Medicine. (2011). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209881/
Brenan, M. (2026, January 12). Nurses continue to lead in honesty and ethics ratings. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/700736/nurses-continue-lead-honesty-ethics-ratings.aspx
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2023). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change and grow (4th ed.). The Guilford Press.
Lundahl, B., Moleni, T., Burke, B. L., Butters, R., Tollefson, D., Butler, C., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing in medical care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Patient Education and Counseling, 93(2), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2013.07.012
Pollak, K. I., Alexander, S. C., Tulsky, J. A., Lyna, P., Coffman, C. J., Dolor, R. J., Gulbrandsen, P., & Østbye, T. (2011). Physician empathy and listening: Associations with patient satisfaction and autonomy. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 24(6), 665–672. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2011.06.110025
American Heart Association. (n.d.). Is vaping better than smoking? Retrieved May 17, 2026, from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/quit-smoking-tobacco/is-vaping-safer-than-smoking

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Valerie Hoover, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, Motivational Interviewing trainer and consultant, and adjunct clinical instructor at Stanford University, School of Medicine.

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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.