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Effective Communication In Faulkner's Emergency Room

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MS is a sixty-seven old Honduran female who presented with signs and symptoms of cold and flu to the Brigham and Women Faulkner Hospital emergency room. She was alert and oriented times three, pleasant and cooperative. The patient had a past medical history of hypertension, and coronary artery disease and lymphedema. The history of present illness was a diagnosis of influenza virus A. The patient was transferred to the 6 South Unit, a medical-surgical floor, at 4:30 pm. Upon arrival to the unit, the staff involved in her initial assessment failed to request a professional medical interpreter in order to have an accurate and trustful communication with the patient. This miscommunication was a wrong assumption by assuming that the patient was bilingual and supposing that the patient somewhat understood English. McCaffrey et al. (2010) claim that effective communication can take place when the basic factors of communication are understood. The patient in this instant felt left behind since no one had asked her how she was feeling, or if she had any concerns or needs to be addressed. The patient’s room was in front of the nursing station, so she was able to observe the laughs and talking of the health-care personnel, and was questioning if the talking and laughter was about her. The following morning, during the handoff report, I heard that this patient was difficult. However, when I went to introduce myself to this patient, I found a lovely and cooperative lady whom I had

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