Communication Is An Important Aspect Of Nursing As A Profession Essay

In health and social care effective communication a key skill all professionals should have when working with families, carers, children and young people. Having this skill helps to build trust it can also encourage the individual to use the services. Effective communication is essential when trying to establish and maintain relationships and it is a process that involves listening, questioning, responding and understanding. However there are many barriers that can effect how effective the communication is a few examples of these barriers could be: language, personality, visual or auditory impairment or a disability. In order to over come these barriers there have been many advances in the strategies that can help in situations where the

Professional communication as defined by Crisp, Taylor, Douglas & Rebeiro, 2013, p194 includes the spoken and non-verbal forms of communication. When a nurse doesn’t communicate professionally with the patients, patients family and healthcare workers this can have an impact on the patients’ care, the nurses and the health outcomes for the patient (Robinson, F.P, 2010, p206). Unprofessional communication comes in the form of an unfriendly tone of voice, interrupting the patient when they are speaking or asking questions (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014 p66). Both of these are spoken forms of communication. Nonverbal cues are primarily about facial expressions. Interrupting and speaking

The main claim to this paper, is to prove, to have effective communication with patients and their

Communication is usually taken for granted in our every day to day living as we use it without thought. Good communication skills are needed in the workplace and especially with nursing staff to and from patients when giving first hand care. Good or bad communication can make there experience within the health care setting a positive or negative one and can leave a lasting impression. A good health care provider can use there communication skills to put a patient at ease with a few comforting words or gestures, a lack of positive communication in the health care setting could leave the patient feeling neglected, ignored and not valued as a patient.

Another non-verbal communication skill that I learned to use effectively was silence as it gave both the patient and the nurse time to reflect upon previous or future events in the patient’s care, although it is important to ensure that the patient’s needs are still met and that the focus is still on them. Therefore it is important that the nurse involves the patient through other means of communication.

Communication involves information being sent, received and decoded between two or more people (Balzer-Riley 2008) and involves the use of a number of communication skills; which in a nursing context generally focuses on listening and giving information to patients (Weller 2002). This process of sending and receiving messages has been described as both simple and complex (Rosengren 2000 in McCabe 2006, p.4). It is a process which is continually utilised by nurses to convey and receive information from the patient, co-workers, others they come into contact with and the patient’s family.

The hand over process of communication between nurses to nurses is done with the intention of transferring essential information for safe, and patient centered care. Traditionally, this shift report has been done away from the patient’s bedside, at the nurse’s station, or other place like staff’s room. In addition, the shift report used to be delivered through audio recording of the patient’s information. These reporting mechanisms did not include face-to-face reporting of the patient information, nor involvement of patient. Therefore, information regarding the patient’s care was not shared with the patient, leaving them out of his/her own care plan. Recent studies and development of Patient Centered Care Philosophy have challenged this belief of giving a report away from the patient. Tan (2015) said, “Shift report must not only be restricted in nurse to nurse communication, but it must involve patients as the recipients of care” (p. 1). Incorporating the patient into the end of shift report is essential for providing patient centered care and patient satisfaction. Nurses at the St Jude Medical center in the acute in-patient rehabilitation unit are not exceptional. Most of the end of the shift report between nurses are still done away from the patient. Aim of this paper is to make a change in the work place, which is the process of giving end of shift report at the bedside incorporating patient and families in the acute in-patient rehabilitation unit at St Jude Medical

Effective communication is crucial aspect of nursing yet too often is placed low on the priority list, especially at shift change. Information related to the care of patients is frequently disseminated at a crowded, noisy nurse station with several nurses rushing to leave and others attempting to get the information necessary to plan care and limit the constant distractions. It is this interaction that allows for information vital patient safety information to be communicated including the acuity of patients.

I was able to check the patient in a systemic order and to make her feel comfortable around me allowing openness and honesty about medical conditions. I responded to the patient in a professional way as to not make her feel uncomfortable and to represent myself as a professional. The patient felt very comfortable with me during the interview, I had asked her upon completion if I was professional and if she felt comfortable. She said that I was very gentle in examining her and that she was very comfortable speaking to me. During the examination there were moment when the patient and I had light conversation, as I did not want the experience to feel cold and calculated. She showed me picture of her family and the books that she loves to

Therapeutic communication is the basis to maintain a proper nurse patient relationship. Furthermore, understanding that therapeutic communication which is so vital, patient’s literacy level is also crucial in the communication process. Boykins D., 2014 states that “individuals that experience health literacy problems receive less preventative care and have poor understanding of health problems and care”. A nurse assesses each patients’ literacy level upon their first interaction, she also uses therapeutic communication to build a strong nurse patient relationship. Therapeutic communication can be verbal and nonverbal, both equally important to help build a bridge for communication. An example of nonverbal therapeutic communication would be silence; in some cultures, silence is a norm and a way of thinking. With a precise assessment and proper

This essay will highlight one of the key concepts of nursing .The concept that will be discussed in this essay will be communication, the reason for this chosen concept is that communication plays a vital role in everyday occurrences which defines how a situation is perceived by yourself, others and how communication is effectively handled . There will be a definition on what communication is also an evaluation of the chosen concept will be explored throughout this essay.

As a nurse, communication is an essential and important factor to building a therapeutic relationship between a nurse and patient as it is the difference between average and excellent nursing care, as it helps maintain a good quality of life and allows nurses’ and patients to interact and provide comfort when needed. The importance of good communication can become apparent with patients especially when they are in the hospital, as it helps the nurses build a positive relationship with patients and helps overcome barriers including physical, psychological and social. A therapeutic relationship is built on many factors which include both verbal and non-verbal communication which helps maintains the relationship and strengthens it due to the positive impact it has not only on the patient’s experience but also the nurse’s.

1.3 Review methods of dealing with inappropriate interpersonal communication between individuals in health and social care settings

As first year nursing students, we have been introduced to concepts that are fundamental to our professional development as future nurses, such as interpersonal understanding, and interpersonal communication. In fact, understanding the importance of interpersonal communication during different stages of the therapeutic relationship between a nurse and a client is one of our main learning objectives. As a result, we have been assigned to perform a standardized patient scenario interview with an actor in order to demonstrate our communication skills through three different stages of the therapeutic relationship: the interaction phase, the working phase, and the resolution phase. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze my own performance during the interview process, and identify my areas for growth and my areas of strength in the communication techniques.

Mr. Comer was admitted to his local community hospital for respite care. He has suffered multiple, acute strokes in the past, which has left him with severe disabilities. These include paralysis rendering him immobile, aphasia (speech loss) and dysphagia (swallowing difficulties). He relies on carers for all normal activities required for daily living (Roper et al 1996) and is advised to have a pureed diet and thickened fluids.