The Nurse 's Verbal And Nonverbal Interactions

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 assignment, the author has chose to critically analyse a situation where a second year nursing student Catherine, who is on a 7 week clinical placement is having an issue when communicating with patients at times.

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

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.

A nurse-patient relationship is the basic requirements in all practice settings. Its usage is to manage communication between an organization and a public while maintaining boundaries in the therapeutic relationship. Based on Peplau’s interpersonal theory, communication takes place in a nurse-client relationship where therapeutic process occurs involving complex factors such as environment, attitudes, practices, and beliefs in the dominant culture (seu.edu, 2015). The actions of each person in a nurse-patient relationship is measured on the collaboration of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Nurse’s work to attain, maintain, and restore the patient’s health until patient have fulfilled the health care needs. Patient must be guided and provided a well-respected environment until a better health and specific needs are fully considered in the relationship. In this kind of setting, nurse’s must create relationship with patients by communicating receptivity, assimilating the concepts of empathy, trust, genuineness, respect, and confidentiality into their interactions.

Effective communication in the healthcare setting improves recovery rates and reduces pain and complication rates. (Wilkinson et al, 2003). Many complaints to the NHS are attributed to poor communication. Effective communication is reliant on the nurse working in partnership with the patient. It is essential that the nurse establishes a rapport and most of this will be achieved through the use of facial expressions. In my practice, it is important that develop a therapeutic relationship with the patients so that they can be able to put their trust in me. The therapeutic relationship is solely to meet the needs of the patient. In this relationship, there is a rapport established from a sense of mutual understanding and trust. To build a good nurse-patient relationship, I would have to show qualities of empathy, caring, sincerity and trustworthiness. During practice, if I am approaching a patient and the patient looks anxious, I should approach with empathy.

This report aims to discuss the communication observed between the Nurse and Patient portrayed in the video. There are two scenarios in which the Nurse addresses the patient’s concerns. The patient’s response is influenced by the Nurse’s approach. In a health care setting, a personal, empathic yet professional approach is most effective in communication from Nurse to Patient. Furthermore this report assesses the therapeutic techniques used by the Nurse to effectively interact with the patient.

Problems with verbal communication in the healthcare setting emerge from the fact that nurses and others in the healthcare setting receive little education on how to communicate effectively with each other.

The therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is known as a close and consistent connection approaching during patients’

“Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to open good communication with the patient, he or she may be of no help” (Asnani, MR. 2009). Effective communication plays a big role in healthcare and contributes to the quality of patient care and teamwork.

A communication issue identified in the video is that the daughter, Jenny, had negative body language towards the nurse, Anne. She had her arms crossed, her posture was slumped and she was looking down at Anne.

From a counseling stand point empathy is more meaningful than sympathy. Empathy is when we have the ability to understand and then reflect that understanding and those feelings back to the client. Sympathy is when you feel sorrow for someone else’s misfortune. Some clients come to counseling to seek sympathy and not empathy those types of clients want the counselor to feel sorry for them. Another barrier to the development of empathy could be the pressure we put on ourselves to say the right things. Empathy is about listening and acknowledging feeling and/or understanding. We may overcome these barriers by simply just listening for understanding and remembering that the counseling sessions are not for the counselor but for the client, so we must not impose our emotions and feelings on the

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.

Sympathy is a word countless hear, but few accurately understand. It is often confused with empathy, and many times true sympathy is occasional. Countless