Communication for Healthcare Professionals - Literature review Example

Communication for Healthcare Professionals In the contemporary world, effective communication skills are deemed as an essential element in all careers. Even people with multiple qualifications are unable to prove their identity primarily because of their lack of effective communication skills. In this essay, we will be discussing about the skills that are of vital importance for inter-personal communication and emphasize their importance for healthcare workers. Effective Communication: Effective communication plays an instrumental role in our everyday life and it is considered as a decisive factor for career advancement. Communication is an indispensable skill and is critical for developing personal associations and running a successful business. It can make relationships and at the same time it can break relationships. Whenever communication occurs by any means it leaves an impact. The capability to link and build rapport with other people is an important skill which forms the basis of effective communication and thus it should be keenly developed right from the beginning of one’s career. Effective communication skills can be learned and utilized at any stage of life. Many of the management and human resource professionals have been working on this discipline and they have reached at a consensus that if communication is not utilized properly then one might end up with bottlenecks and communication gaps during the course of work and thus barring his/her own path to success. Some of the points that have been suggested for building effective communication skills are as follows (Perkins, 2008): Be Precise While communicating, one should be as direct as possible (with respect to the organizational culture), not compromising on the aspect of good manners. As they say “don’t beat around the bush”. People might lose interest in the message you want to convey in case if you are not to the point during the communication process. Behavior/Manners In a formal environment whatever the scenario might be the type of communication you use is critical. Even the wrong tone can give an opposite message to the counter party. Be polite to put the other person at ease rather than being rude. A person who feels comfortable in communicating is much more likely to be receptive to what is being said and hence the communication in this way can be more productive. Using ‘I’ “I” can be used as when required in positive sentences. It should not be offending or an overwhelming statement for the other person. Rather. ‘I’ should be utilized when giving someone one’s own opinion on something which you wouldn’t be imposing on the listener. This can make the communication not only positive but also meaningful. Positive Approach A smile can win hearts. A positive tone can turn the enemy down. Always use a positive and soft tone in professional environment even when you are delivering a bad news. Negative tone can create barriers and people have a tendency to ignore those messages. Active Listening For effective communication, one has to be an active listener and appreciate what the other person has to say and understand it as well. Involvement You have to make your communication interesting and involve people into it. While communicating verbally, use different techniques and pauses to have a discussion to make the whole thing interesting. Use body language and gestures actively in order to emphasize on what you have to say. This will reinforce the importance of your message. Visual Aids Employing visual aids and graphical elements really help in explaining what is being said. ‘A picture says a thousand words’ as they say. Try using visual aids and graphs in your communication when it could be done. This helps in engaging the audience and activates their senses, leading to much more productive sessions and deeper understanding. Simple & Clear While communicating, we should be cognizant of our audience and we should use relevant level of vocabulary accordingly. Using ambiguous and flowery language creates confusion and uncertainty in the meanings of what is being said leaving blank faces out to the audience. This can totally waste the purpose of effective communication. Patience Having patience during communication is a desirable quality, especially when it deals with being effective and making the words into actions. If you haste through things and get frustrated than you would probably feel yourself in serious trouble. Your abilities and skills will be meaningless if you can’t be patient while communicating. Patience can enhance your own productivity and can be effectively utilized in getting the message through the listeners.  Healthcare and Communication Communication that is used in the field of medicine is often referred to as health care communication (Burnard, 1997). It includes written notes of a health care practitioner, conversation of a nurse, documentation of an operation or laboratory findings and even the doctor directly talking to his/her patient. Medical communication is strictly constrained by certain stringent objectives. First of all, it shouldn’t be taking place if it is not necessary. Effective and polite communication in this field cannot only yield better productivity from healthcare workers but it also boosts their motivation because long hours and hectic duties are common in this industry (Sperry, 2003). Effective communication skills on the end of the healthcare workers are also essential in a sense that how patients are being handled. If patients are politely treated than it can alleviate their mental distress and they probably might feel relieved. Sensitivity in Healthcare: The process of communication is like a network; one has to understand each and every component in order to be able to communicate effectively. In the field of healthcare, we need to be very cautious while communicating as a single communication error can cause a dreadful mistake which may even cost someone’s life. Like any other field, healthcare has its own jargons. Those involved in this sector are assumed to have sound knowledge about these jargons and technical terminologies. These terminologies are sparingly used by doctors and laboratory experts to explain the medical situation and state their comments on what needs to be done. While the practitioners/doctors are assumed to have full knowledge of these terminologies and use the right ones with utmost clarity and to the point, the receivers of this communication i.e. the nursing staff, pharmacist and other healthcare workers are also expected to interpret it in the right meanings. Dealing with People: Healthcare workers have to deal with different kinds of people such as patients, patients’ families and other healthcare professionals or fellow workers. Healthcare managers should therefore have a strong interest in and focus towards the patient welfare, and thus should possess excellent interpersonal skills. They should have good problem-solving and analytical skills to deal with different situations, work well independently, and also be able to collaborate with other fellow healthcare workers and/or professionals to solve problems and develop effective treatment plans for their patients (Mackay, 1993). Few examples and cases where healthcare workers need to have effective communication skills are as follows: Healthcare management & Training It is a relatively new field where training nurses and ward attendants are major audience. These professionals need to be fully equipped with the proper communication skills for handling different kinds of patients and thus they need to be experts of human behavior and tactical communication skills (Thompson, 1986). Geriatric-care managers The healthcare workers in this field managing geriatric patients need to be very patient themselves and assertive in communication skills. This enables them to be proactive in getting the patient his/her medical bills paid by the family and get the moral support he/she requires. The healthcare worker in this case is like a support or a spokes person and besides being a nurse to the patient. Therefore communication is critical in such instances. Operation Theatre Staff Yet another example of healthcare workers is the operation theatre staff. They are extensively trained to cope with serious situations and handle the patient’s families with emotional intelligence (Smith, 1982). They are therefore not only communication experts but also emotionally intelligent which enables them in reducing the stress that the family and patient feel before the operation. Thus their communication skills are vital and can always be of real help in medical emergencies. Conclusion: Importance of effective communication skills can never be overlooked or neglected. These skills are critical in the execution of good management skills in any of the professions. With good communication skills, one can have a team of fellows who can probe for clarifications, recognize nonverbal signals and gestures, and develop a mutual understanding (Navarra, 1990). Good communication involves a set of complex skills which are not innate but rather can be learned over the period of time. References Burnard, P(1997). Effective communication skills for health professionals. 2nd Edition : Nelson Thornes Mackay, L (1993). Conflict in care: Medicine and Nursing. Chapman and Hall. Navarra, T et.al. (1990). Therapeutic Communication: A Guide to Effective Interpersonal Skills for Health Care Professionals Perkins, P.S. & Brown, L. (2008). The Art and Science of Communication: Tools for Effective Communication in the Workplace: Wiley Smith, V. & Bass, T. (1982). Communication for the Health care Team: Harper and Row Ltd. Sperry Len (2003) Becoming an Effective Health Care Manager: The Essential Skills of Leadership. 1st edition: Health Professions Press Thompson, T.(1986). Communication for Health Professionals: Harper and Row Publishers,Inc Read More