Effective Communication As A Health Care Professional

Communication is all around us. It’s the way we interact with each other in everyday living. Our senses have a lot to do with the way we receive communication, and even if a sense is impaired there are still ways to get the idea across to people.

Within a health care setting communication is a necessity. This communication not only includes the need for professional communication but also the way in which information is shared to the patient and to other healthcare workers. Another important aspect of health care worker such as a nurse is the effectiveness off a handover. Within the video, Effective Communication in nursing these three aspects of communication (Professional communication, provision of information and handover) were seen and will be analysed further, within this essay. These will be analysed through the three aspects, the care of the patient, the image of the individual nurse and the health outcomes of the patient. All of these three aspects of communication are vitally important to the overall patient needs.

Communication is one of the basic survival skills of human and also a fundamental part of nursing. Effective communication would help to promote a positive nurse-client relationship which is crucial for the delivery of quality nursing care (Sheppard, 1993; McCabe 2003).

A therapeutic relationship is a key component in the nursing profession. Without therapeutic relationships, the best possible care can never be provided. The foundation in which trust is built upon is created from the nurse’s ability to truly listen and respond appropriately. Listening creates the base in developing a strong, trusting relationship. Sometimes it is simply hearing what a patient says that makes all the difference, empowering them to open up and become more comfortable with the nurse (Hawkins-Walsh, 2000).

In nursing practice, communication is essential, and good communication skills are paramount in the development of a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of communication in nursing, demonstrating how effective communication facilitates a therapeutic

McCabe C. (2004) Nurse-patient communication: an exploration of patients’ experiences. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 13, 41-49.

In this essay I will be analysing effective communication and reflecting on a personal situation that demonstrates this within a health and social care setting. There are many different types of communication, verbal, non-verbal, formal, informal, written and it can be shown through your tone of voice, thorough your facial expression, as well as the through your body language. The official definition of communication according to Oxford Learning Dictionary is, “the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information” and I will be using the Gibbs reflective tool (1988) and its 6 stages as the frame work to break down the incident I was involved in and compare it to the

Communication is any form of expressing and receiving of messages between individuals. The importance of Communication in the nursing profession is to maintain high quality care for the patient but also maintain effective collaboration between professionals. Boykins, D (2014) states that the “registered nurse is expected to communicate in various formats and in all areas of practice”. Various formats include speaking to patients and coworkers as well as utilizing appropriate protocols and systems to effectively communicate regards to patient’s status.

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.

Therapeutic communication aims to accentuate understanding of the client’s situations to health professionals, to achieve a greater outcome of health. It focuses on the clients need not the nurses. Pontes (2008) notes that health professionals verbally communicate with clarity and brevity

Professional Communication is a very important element in the foundation for a strong health care system. Communication can also serve as a basis for basic health care administered. Communication is not only the one tool in health care in which we can control, but also what helps prevent the derailment in patient-healthcare professional trust.. Types of model that can help express how important professional communication is within health care is the movie titled, The Doctor. There are various examples in this movie in which the importance of professional communication is portrayed and supports the argument, as well. These types of examples and supporting data can also be found in real life testimonies of what type of situations can result from lack of professional communication in the health care setting. Communication teaches the importance in human-to-human contact that some hospitals and health care setting may lack due to the certain personality type that is more attracted to the roles of doctors. Professional communication should remain at the forefront of bed side manner and proper etiquette in the health care field and setting.

Effective communication can strengthen the bond between team members, and patients by having a clear understanding of what is being imposed or asked. This is why as a healthcare provider we need to ask are patients questions to make sure they get the gist of what is being said. Asking questions is a big part of being able to speak or have an effective conversation with one other. While as a healthcare provider a question shows are patient we do care, to take the time to make sure they're on the same page as us and the doctor. Being able to effectively communicate with your patients and team can lead to a better perception of what kind of healthcare is being received, and can ultimately lead to a patients willingness to aid in their own recover.

A therapeutic relationship is a professional, inter-personal alliance in which the nurse and client join together for a defined period to achieve health-related treatment goals (Chauhan & Long, 2000), which may only last for a short period of time but

Therapeutic communication refers to the interaction between healthcare professionals and their respective clients. It is aimed at ensuring the mental and physical well-being of clients, providing them with support and keeping them well-informed throughout their healing journey (Knapp 2015). The aim of improving this form of communication, as a nurse, is to influence others and ensure the best possible health outcomes. Nurses are expected to therapeutically adjust and adapt their communication skills in response to specific clinical outcomes (Crisp & Taylor 2009) as context aids in shaping the patient's needs. Through a recent interview conducted between myself and a client, I explored therapeutic communication techniques which included responsiveness, assertiveness empathetic understanding and non-verbal communication.

Therapeutic Communication has a huge impact on patients, whether, we, as nurses, see it or not. It is very important for a nurse to gain a patient’s trust. Many patients are already filled with sadness, nervousness and unsure thoughts of their current situation. Such thoughts may make a person scared to trust or open up to a nurse or doctor. Developing a close rapport with a patient can help to create a safe, warming environment, resulting in a positive experience throughout their time in the hospital or even nursing home. In “Therapeutic Communication”, Anna Lauria opens saying, “What we say or do not say can influence whether a client is able to quiet his mind, relax his body and initiate a healing response” (Lauria). Being a nurse, we automatically have the opportunity to create a strong influence on patients’ lives during, and even after, their hospital experience.