Communication Reflection Paper

The memoir went exactly how I thought it would be. Bette Ann Markowitz’s situation of taking care of a parent who has Alzheimer is very common; having an aging parent who can no longer fend for themselves. Markowitz is not an only child so she had to constantly consult her sibling on “what is the best option” (Moskowitz41),

Communication isn’t just about talking. There are so many different elements to communicating in society. How a person gestures, the tone in an individual’s voice, an expression on a person’s face, how a person listens is all a part of communicating. As we all know, in order to communicate with one another we must be able to listen. I think in society people think that communication is all about speaking but in reality it is just a little piece to a bigger picture. In today’s society, listening seems to be a skill that is being neglected. Even though it is basically the first communication skill that we are exposed to, we have pushed it aside and chose speaking to dominate our lives. Researchers have discovered that fetuses can process incoming sounds during the last trimester of pregnancy, and that by 12 months children have learned sounds of and rules of their native language(Worthington, 3). This shows that children’s abilities to speak, read, write and reason are influenced highly by how well they are taught to listen. As parents we can all be teachers to our children so that they can grow up to be well-rounded communicators.

In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.

In an online class setting, it can be very challenging to work on a group project that requires the participation of every group member and completing the project on time. This group project was successful one each individual had because we used proper communication to assign tasks, roles, and deadline to complete the project.

Throughout this essay I will share the reasons I have found for there being difficulties and also rewards of being a carer for a family member. ‘A carer is someone of any age who provides unpaid support to care for family or friends who could not manage without this help. This could be caring for a relative, partner or friend who is ill, frail, disabled or has mental health or substance misuse problems.’ (Carers Trust) I will attempt to use my course materials to draw on the experiences of Ann Walker who cares for her elderly step father Angus who has developed Parkinsons’ disease. Firstly I will look at some of the following difficulties that I have identified and due to the limitations of this study I will then briefly discuss the

Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to educate and inform my audience of the risks inherent from unintended hypothermia. I’m eager to alert perioperative staff of the potential dangers as well as the preventative measures that can be taken in order to avoid complications associated with unintended hypothermia. My central idea is hypothermia management saves lives.

Many caregivers are elderly themselves, and the heavy physical and mental toll of caregiving can compromise their own health, resulting in two elderly persons needing assistance. Several years ago, Mr. and Mrs. C, another couple in their late 80’s, moved to a Senior Living Community offering different levels of care including Independent Living, Assisted Living, and a Dementia Care Unit. They were in an Independent Living apartment and on a waiting list for an Assisted Living apartment to become available. Although they have adult children close by, Theresa was the primary caregiver for her husband who has

Millions of people are in the role of a part or full time caregiver in the U.S to family members who have a serious illness or disability. This a a very challenging and demanding role that needs to be recognized and appreciated.

In this essay, I intend to reflect on a situation I encountered during my first community placement I had the opportunity to develop my communication skills not just theoretically but also practically, facing a real life environment. My placement made me aware of the importance of interpersonal and communication skills which are very important in the delivery of care. Throughout my nursing career, I will be encouraged to develop reflective practice skills and become a reflective practitioner. Reflection refers to a series of steps that you may take to question and explore an experience with the aim of learning from it. I will discuss the importance of communication in order to maintain a therapeutic relationship.

The older adult population in the United States has steadily increased thanks to technology and medical advances. While this definitely is an undeniable achievement, it also creates some challenges that society was not as prevalent to face before. Now that people are living longer it’s also means that often times family members are becoming caregivers to their loved ones during their so called golden years. Not only may it be difficult to care for a loved one, but it also becomes even more burdensome when their loved has a disability. In fact “dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.” (2016). Fortunately there are adult day centers that serve people with dementia and provide services that can benefit them. However many times caregivers are forgotten about and aren’t provided services that can also benefit them as well. While it does take a bit of pressure off of the caregivers while their loved ones are at the day center, it does not eliminate all the other effects. Many people may not be aware that there are detrimental effects that a caregiver may experience as a result of caring for someone with dementia.

In interpersonal communication there are many theories that are similar yet different in many ways. The theories can be combined to describe people and how those people interact and communicate with each other. Many of these theories help explain how people in society form impressions of others, how they maintain these impressions, why people interact with certain people in society, and how people will use these impressions that they have formed later on in life. These theories also help people to better understand themselves, to better understand interpersonal communication, and to better understand people in general. There are two theories in interpersonal communication that, despite their differences, can go hand in hand. The first is

Though technology has made it easier for communication across distance, I find that maintaining communication depends on one’s own dedication to stay in contact. Having lived in Massachusetts, Colorado, and lastly, Oklahoma, I have gained many friends across the country. I have unfortunately lost some of my friends’ contact information. Regardless, for the purposes of this project I chose to talk to two of my friends in Massachusetts.

In the three communications I’ve written, text,email,and letter to insurance company. All of them had a different approach. Each written text were different people and they all had different responses. The background of the text I wrote to my friend was, my best friend I had known for years and we text every single day. The background of my email I wrote to my dad was tolerant because I not as close to my dad but, also, I should share how’s my life is going to him. In the letter, I wrote to my insurance company, it was urgent because I needed to tell them something needed to be done. They all come together as one whole story told in a different perspective.

Communication is essential in all facets of an organization. It can aid in decision making, planning and conflict resolution. The ability to effectively communicate allows facilitation of relationships between superiors and subordinates; essentially this creates higher job satisfaction (Dogra, A., 2012). Open communication where employees have opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns, corelates to employees feeling a sense of value within the organization, which creates motivation (Dogra, A., 2012). Furthermore, in conjunction with these ideas, a sense of partnership and loyalty begin to develop between subordinates and superiors. The responses to this are typically seen in greater responsibility being given to the subordinate.

Most of the skills we discussed in this course I would say I already knew about, so much of this was reinforcing what I already knew along with adding a few more terms to describe some of the communication process. I think the most important thing that was reinforced was the role that listening plays in all communication, whether professional or personal. In the workplace, if you listen and pay attention to what your employer likes, you might be able to get a promotion or something similar by doing whatever it is he/she likes. Listening in the workplace can also be used to help maintain a good work environment; if you know that someone is having some kind of conflict, you can help to remedy that conflict and restore a good work environment. Where this is most important (I would say) is in personal relationships. Being able to not only talk but listen to the other person in the relationship is key to any healthy relationship going smoothly and keeping both people in the relationship happy. Listening comes into play in some less dire situations also: similar to doing what your employer likes, if you listen to the other person in the relationship when they talk about something that they like, you will know what it is that they like and will be able to do/get whatever that may be. Where communication is most important in relationships is in disagreements; if two people are able to get through a disagreement in a way that satisfies both people and minimizes hostility, it shows both maturity and good communication skills.