The way in which we communicate impacts all areas of our lives. It impacts our relationships with our family members, loved ones, doctors or peers every day. To communication in an online team meeting, or having a discussion to your instructors, communication is how we collect and process information and express ourselves.
Health Communication
health communication is a multidimensional process and includes aspects from both the sender and the receiver of the message. Communication skills did not appear on the average nursing school curriculum. Much has changed in the last decades; communication skills have become an integral part of training. At the same time, the patient has become more challenging, it is the age of customer service and patient satisfaction. In response to these changes, health care providers, including nurses have needed to change their approach to patients (Torgan, Ph.D., 2013).
Your communication skills influence many patient outcomes such as anxiety, adherence to treatments, and satisfaction with care. To establish a therapeutic relationship, you need to understand and apply the concepts of respect, caring, empowerment, trust, empathy, and mutuality, as well as confidentiality and veracity. Understanding communication barriers in the relationship (e.g., anxiety, stereotyping, or violations of personal space or confidentiality) affects the quality of the relationship. Employing actions that communicate feelings of respect, caring, warmth, acceptance, and understanding to the client is an interpersonal skill that requires practice. Caring for others in a meaningful way improves with experience (Arnold & Boggs, 2011).
The Term Paper on Dr. patient relationship
... good doctor patient relationship. Time and finance has been a major drawback to shared decision making in health care system. Such ... the return of trust to the doctor patient relationship and patient doctor communication are both important. Introduction The benefit of ... that of guidance with professional skills, knowledge and training to benefit the patient including making unilateral decision about ...
According to “healthypeople2020.gov”, “health communication and health information technology (IT) are central to health care, public health, and the way our society views health. These processes make up the context and the ways professionals and the public search for, understand, and use health information, impacting their health decisions and actions. Health communication encompasses the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health. It links the areas of communication and health and is increasingly recognized as a necessary element of efforts to improve personal and public health.”
According to the Healthy People 2010, health communication can impact many different attributes to the prevention of disease and promotion of health and is significant in a number of settings, including (1) relations between healthcare and patients (2) persons’ experience to, seeking for, and usage of health information, (3) a patients adherence to medical recommendations, (4) the formation and foundation of public health communication and operations (5) images or perception of health in avenues of television and news (7) the education of patients and instructions on how to gain access to the public health, and (8) the advancement of tele-health products or systems or new health and IT blending. You nursing students are the future of healthcare and communications, you will see how intimate of a relationship you will have with IT and patient information on many levels, health care information technology will assist you in your many roles as a professional nurse.
Theorists and Theories
It is important to know our nursing history and the theorists who shaped our profession, so we can find pieces that we can identify with and use them as a guide in your practice.
Hildegard Peplau, Application of Interpersonal Theory in Nursing Practice, has an emphasis on the verbal aspects of communication. By using the nurse as the mode to help the patient heal and overcome illness or negative patterns of behavior. Communication in Peplau’s view, assists in the creation of a therapeutic environment (Current Nursing, 2012).
The Term Paper on Effective communication level 3 health and social care
... the clients need are met. A positive, caring relationship helps the client’s communication with the health care professionals easier than having a negative ... needed. As she was a young nurse when she spoke to her colleagues and her patients she sometimes spoke using slag. ... a positive relationship with one of the residents in the nursing home. My Grandfather built this relationship with this one ...
Jean Watson’s caring theory model, defines communication and language between the nurse and patient as a phenomenon that occurs on a more spiritual level versus just a verbal occurrence or commonplace event. “The moment of coming together presents them with the opportunity to decide how to be at the moment, in the relationship—what to do with and in a moment. If the caring moment is transpersonal, each feels a connection with the other at the spirit level; thus, it transcends time and space, opening up new possibilities for healing and human connection at a deeper level than physical interaction.” (Fitzpatrick, J. & Whall, A.) The patient and nurse both allow themselves to be present to one another which is a direct link to the therapeutic setting that supports the patient to heal (Current Nursing, 2012).
The Nurse-Client Relationship
No matter the setting, nurse-client relationships and professional communication provide a primary means through which nurses implement professional roles in providing quality health care and contribute to shaping the health care delivery system (Current Nursing, 2012).
There are numerous “hats” or roles that are carried out through a nurse. The many different types of roles associated with professional nursing practice. Nurses provide care individually and as part of multidisciplinary health care teams. Your specific job function as a nurse will require different levels of each nursing role and responsibilities. As you progress in your career you will notice that you are utilizing each of these roles. Most especially the top five on the list. These are essentials in being an effective nurse (Arnold & Boggs, 2011).
Nurse as a caregiver, nurse as a teacher, nurse as a patient advocate, nurse as a manager, nurse as an evaluator, nurse as a researcher, nurse as a consultant, and nurse as a case manager (Arnold & Boggs, 2011).
Results of lack or poor communication
Studies have shown that poor collaboration with in a team was the principal cause of preventable patient care problems and as well as reasons for malpractice claims (Hicks, 2014).
The Research paper on Health Care and Nursing Home
... professional of health care and nursing home. Previously, Nurses used to call practitioners to explain a little and ask them to meet patients if possible ... study elaborates that the staff in the nursing home failed in showing their skills and communication to meet the changing nature of ...
Successful, efficient communication is the foundation or base of any healthcare team. In opposition, absent or missing communication among health care professionals has been shown to have serious adverse impact on patient care.
Medical Errors
All it takes is one necessary piece of information to be left out and the results can be disastrous. (Hicks, 2014).
Not all inaccuracies are preventable but when healthcare workers make communication and documentation a priority and provide accurate information mistakes can be avoided. Also in today’s age of pay for performance medicine by Medicare and Medicaid, reimbursement is aimed at specific documentation as well as events that may be preventable with proactive nursing (Torgan, Ph.D., 2013).
Long Wait Times
Considering unpredictability in health care, it is easy to see that there may be times that emergencies or situations arise. Communication among all members of the health care team can help prevent scheduling conflicts which is the one of the main reasons for long wait times. If you are a nurse working in a hospital, keeping your patients or families updated frequently will help reduce anxiety and make them feel more involved (Hicks, 2014).
Workplace Conflict
Workplace conflict is everywhere. It is important to focus on the problem, not the person. Collaborative communication, is a learned process and eventually will help misunderstandings to be worked out and problems to be resolved. Workplace conflict is a leading indicator of an unhealthy work environment (Arnold & Boggs 2011).
Poor Decision-Making
With poor or ineffective communication can lead to poor decision-making. In order to make sound patient decisions, you as a nurse need to know the information. Communication is a two way street, focusing on the problem at hand, can help to make decisions that result in the improvement of work environment and quality patient care (Hicks, 2014).
Increased Stress
Again, lack of or poor communication can add to stress due to multiple work problems or add to everyday stress we all carry in our everyday lives. Increased stress may be visible in a student nurse, nurse or health care professional’s failure to foresee patient’s outcomes due to poor communication (Hicks, 2014).
The Report on Critical Care to Patients
Pulmonary Disorder: Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Definition: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term used to describe progressive lung diseases, which include emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma. The common symptoms of COPD are progressive limitations of the airflow into and out of the lungs and shortness of breath. Emphysema and chronic ...
As the future of nursing, learning the skill of effective communication will only enhance your practice. Remembering the attributes to effective communication; accuracy, accessibility balance or stating risk and benefits, uniformity, cultural competence, evidence based, reach, reliability, repetition, correctness and understandability will take you far in your goal of effective communication.
References
Arnold, E. C. & Boggs, K. U. (2011).
Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses (6th Ed.).
St. Louis, MI: Elsevier
Fitzpatrick, J. & Whall, A. (2005).
Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations. Watsons model of caring. Conceptual Models of Nursing: Analysis
and Application.
Healthy People 2010. (N.D.).
Retrieved from http://www.aaaceus.com/courses/nl0610/article6.html
Healthy People 2020. (2014).
Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/default.aspx
Hicks, J. (2014,).
5 Side Effects of Ineffective Communication. Retrieved from http://medicaloffice.about.com/od/leadershipresources/tp/5-Side-Effects-Of-Ineffective-Communication.htm
Current Nursing. (2012).
Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com
