Improving Communication Skills - Essay Example

Reflective Journal Day On my first day at the hostel, I was introduced to the staff and shown around the building, at the time I was nervous and anxious of what to expect but then realized that staffs was approachable, helpful and friendly, which eased my fears. Following that, I was immediately offered the chance to distribute medication to a resident, which at first made me feel anxious. However, once the task was completed and supervised by staff, I felt confident straight away within my role and knew it was going to be interesting. This is similar to reflection in action, in that I was able to reflect whilst distributing the medication. ‘Reflection-inaction occurs during the experience and involves making sense of the experience while it is happening.’ Beard & Wilson (2002:197). When being supervised how to distribute medication, I was shown the medication policy – used by the organization, which involved following the following; • All prescription medication should be kept in the individual service users locked cabinet in the office. • The key to the locked cabinet should be given to the service user on admission with any necessary key deposit or stored in a key cabinet in the office. • We are not allowed to administer but only allow service users to take their own medication. I realised that the medication policy where the distribution of medication is controlled was just a method or a way of cutting the budget to enhance the survival of the organization. This form of budget cut had adverse impacts on the organization. For example, the controlled medication ensures that less medication is used among the residents and this reduces the funding that the organization may receive. In most cases, when there is no use of resources, then no funding is done. Controlled medication also resuls to understaffing in the organization since the numbers of medications administered to the residents are very few. At this point, i was still a new member of staff therefore, I had to listen attentively to the director of the organization while he was giving me the instructions on medication policy. Through this i came to realise with time that my listening skills were developing. Attentive listening is an effective listening skill [Anderson 1993 page 108]. As the day went on, I was shown how to use the Alcohawk, which is used to breathalyze the residents, which needs to be carried out three times a day by a member of staff.The use of Alcohawk which is minimized to only three times a day by each member of staff was a form of budget cut in the ogarnization. To date, I have carried out five tests with the residents. Once each breathalyze had been done, it must be logged in the medication file so that other staff are aware of the results for next time. If the Alco hawk gave, a reading over 0.001 then that must be investigated and further questions must be asked as to whether the resident in question had been under the influence. However, the tests I have completed have not shown any indication as to whether the residents have been drinking alcohol. I realised that the use of Alco hawk in the organization to breathalyze individuals was one of the government policies concerning the admission of students into hostel. This policy helps to check whether an individual or a student is under the influence of alcohol. Considering my thoughts and feelings when completing this task, I was nervous as to whether I would complete the task successfully as all information from the breathalyze test must be logged and I had panicked as it was the first time I had been offered the chance to do this. Completing this task realy depended on my communication skills with the residents. One of the effective communication skills is having confidence during communication [Adler 1996]. However, I was at first nervous and I was not sure of completing my task successfully but later on I developed confidence in my communication with the other staff members and the hostel residents. Consequently, as a new member of staff, i had to ask for help and support from other staff members in situations that I was not well conversant with and this was mostly handling of the new hostel residents. Asking for help and support from other people is one way of improving one’s communication skills. The support from staff members made me believe more in what I can do and the confidence I am gaining is ensuring that I am able to complete such tasks without the fear of being nervous or anxious beforehand. Reflective Journal Day 2 Today, I had the opportunity to sit in with a member of staff and a resident, which, I was excited to intervene. Each referral the hostel receives for a resident they must be interviewed and a decision would then be made as to whether the resident would benefit from a place with The Sanctuary. In this particular instance, I was able to see how the procedure worked. The resident in question had already been interviewed by the director of the organization and was offered a place. At the meeting, a member of staff has to fill out an action plan with every new resident. An action place put in place so that the organization can offer any support the resident requires whilst their stay at the hostel ad so that their current needs can be met. E.g. mental health support, signing up to a doctor and dentist. Considering personalisation with the delivery of such support plays an important role when targeting the needs of the individuals. ‘Personalisation means thinking about care and support services in an entirely different way. This means starting with the person as an individual with strengths, preferences and aspirations’ (Carr, 2010). In that, the information that is asked of the resident will determine what level of support is required from the staff so that the appropriate care is delivered accordingly and specialized to their needs. It was interesting to see how much information is required from the resident i.e. personal background, previous mental health support, employment status etc. Whilst I was involved in the process, it made me feel quite positive as I felt that I was moving forward within my role. I also realised that my communication skills were improving. Communication skills are the facilities that a person or an individual, specifically a speaker uses to pass information to other people who happen to be his or her audience. During my interview with new residents, I had to gather a lot of information from the residents about their personal background, environmental status, and previous mental health supports among several others. Effective communication always involves gathering of helpful information from your audience [Adler 1999]. Gathering information confidently from my interviewees at some level helped me imrove my communication skills. I was also pleased to learn that the intervention was very helpful in developing my listening skills. Listening skills are the effective ways that enables an audience or listener to effectively absorb or get information from a speaker. Good listening skills include a speaker maintaining eye contact with his or her audience and vice versa [Anderson 1993 page 108]. The members of staff in the organization maintained eye contact with the residents when interviewing them. I also had to maintain eye contact with my residents and this realy enhanced my listening skills. I also listened attentively to the hostel residents while gathering information from them. This also helped me greatly to develop my listening skills. As such, being involved in such intervention made me feel a valued member of the staffing team. Overall, my second day at the hostel has been interesting and exciting. As such, I have been able to build upon my communication and relationship skills, which I have learnt is an extremely important part when working in a setting with vulnerable service users. It has also helped me build upon my relationships with the staff and I have found that, I have similar things in common with them and this helps me to build a positive relationship between one another. The staff and residents have been very welcoming and supportive towards my placement role which, has helped build upon my confidence skills. It also helped me develop my reflection skills. Reflection skills are the ways and techniques that help an individual reflect on what he or she has been doing can later on help in transferring a learnt content from one situation to another [Driscoll 1994]. I was a new member of staff and I engaged in conversations with other staff members and group meetings between staff and residents, joins other staff members in conducting interviews for the hostel residents, asks questions from the hostel residents and from other staff members However, there have been times throughout that I have felt overwhelmed by the demands of my placement role i.e. ‘thrown in at the deep end in the first hour’. Now, I feel I am broadly aware of the work that is required for staff and me -the student placement. However, I feel this is just the beginning and I am only just getting started! Reflective Journal Day 3 I approached today with a positive attitude and was looking forward to working with staff and the service users. This morning involved a group meeting between the residents and staff where any concerns were raised. It gave the opportunity for both staff and residents to speak about anything that is concerning them. I and other staff members were informed of an incident that occurred over the weekend with a particular resident who had broken the rules and entered the hostel under the influence of alcohol. It was up to me and another staff member to ‘bag up’ the residents belongings from his room and leave them next to the door for his return. I was nervous when completing this and was worried that the resident may enter at any time and question why we were bagging up his personal belongings. I was thinking if the resident had come into the room that he may become aggressive and violent towards me and the other member of staff. As there was no news as to where the residents whereabouts the only option we had was to wait until he came back to the hostel to collect his belongings and serve the eviction notice. At this present time for my shift there has been no further news and so his belongings remain in the corridor awaiting his return. As the hostel has a policy in place in regards to being under the influence of drink and drugs usually results in immediate eviction in this residents case it would then be up to them to present themselves to the local authority homeless team, where emergency shelter will be provided. I came to realise that the prevention of admission of students under the influence of alcohol was a government policy followed strictly by the organization. That is the reason why students who were found under the influence of alcohol were served with an eviction notice. Reflective Journal Day 4 This morning I was advised that a new resident would be residing in the hostel from today. The resident is currently on a detox from alcohol and on arrival, was accompanied with a district detox nurse it was interesting to see how various agencies worked together for a positive outcome for the service user which is formally known as ‘Multidisciplinary Working; I was asked by the manager of the hostel to ensure the new resident’s bedroom was clean and had a fresh set of bedding for his arrival. Following this, I was given the opportunity to log in all his medication into the ‘new medication file’. At first, I felt unconfident to do this considering it was my first time; however, with supervision from my manager I completed the task successfully and this again, improved my confidence and communication skills between the staff and me. I would now feel confident to do this when a new resident will come to stay in the hostel in the future without guidance from a member of staff. Reflective Journal Day 5 Throughout my time on placement, I am realizing about how important pieces of legislation such as The Mental Health Act, Equality Act and Data Protection Act are in social care settings and that, the work I am completing within my placement requires me to adhere to such boundaries. For example, if a resident presents signs of deterioration to their mental health i.e. the resident has intentions to cause harm to self or others and has made intentions to do so, then The Mental Health Act would addressed to detain an individual suffering from such mental illness. ‘The Mental Health Act is the law under which someone can be admitted, detained and treated in hospital against their wishes.’ (Rethink Mental Illness, 2011) Only an approved mental health professional and a medical practitioner can be involved in detaining someone under this act. This reveals the importance of education and why it is important to interlink such knowledge into professional practice. By the end of day five, I came to realise that there are several government legislation acts that must be considered when admitting residents. One is the Mental Health Act which gives provision of detaining or forcefully treating an individual in the hospital in case of mental illness. Secondly, i came to realise that there is the Equality Act which ensures equality among residents in the organization. Thirdly,i realised there is the Data Protection Act which ensures protection of the field data containing information about the residents admitted by the organisation. Reflective Journal Day 6 On approaching my sixth day I was, initially, positive and enthusiastic to get started. This morning was slightly different in that, I participated in the group a group meeting between staff and residents. The meeting gives residents the chance to discuss any concerns they are having, it is also important for the staff to raise any issues which they may have i.e. cleaning duties. Following the meeting we were informed that one of the resident’s mental healths had deteriorated. The resident was spotted eating worms outside and was then brought inside and questioned on why such behavior is being presented. The resident refused to answer any questions but stared right at myself and other members of staff, which made us, feel very uneasy and frightened. At that point, it was agreed the local community mental health team needed to assist in this particular matter. As the resident is already involved in such intervention from these services there was a Community Psychiatric Nurse on hand who deals with this particular resident mental health state. A community mental health nurse (CMHN), also sometimes known as a community psychiatric nurse is a registered nurse with specialist training in mental health. (NHS Choices, 2011) The manager of the hostel made a call to the team and explained the current situation; however, the team informed the manager of the hostel that they were understaffed and could not attend to the resident at that point in time and only offered immediate intervention if it was believed the resident was a significant threat to life or property. It was agreed that a Community Psychiatric Nurse would attend at the earliest, 2pm as they refused to come out any earlier due to understaffing. Reflective Journal Day 7 Today, whilst in a meeting with another resident there was a clear indication that skills within literacy and numeracy was lacking for this resident and for me. I was concerned that he had not received any advice or guidance in regards to his literacy and numeracy, considering that, the organization aims was to enable those individuals to become independent once they are ready to move on into their own accommodation. I initially raised this awareness with my supervisor and at this time felt confident in asking for further guidance on how to move this forward so that the residents needs were met accordingly. The manager was pleased with my enthusiasm and so was given the opportunity to arrange a college provider to come in and speak with this particular resident and others who may be interested in developing such skills. I had contacted a local college who offers these qualifications and the manager has agreed to come in and give some advice on what they as a college provider offer. There are opportunities to compete nationally recognized qualifications in literacy, numeracy, basic food hygiene and health and safety at no cost to the hostel or the resident. I feel that offering this opportunity to the residents will help them enhance their career prospects but also give them a sense of achievement once they successfully complete their studies whilst they abstain from drug and alcohol misuse. For me, the significant aspects of this task were to ensure the residents needs were met and that sufficient support was put in place in regards to literacy and numeracy skills. I feel I have significantly improved within my self-confidence and team management skills and I am happy that the manager of the hostel trusted me with this responsibility. It has made me feel a more valued team member and has improved my telephone conversational skills. Reflective Journal Day 8 This morning, I was informed that one of our residents had been offered permanent accommodation with the local authority as good progress had been made from the resident whilst there stay at the hostel. This gave me a positive feeling in that a resident is now ready to move into independent living considering the struggles they have faced throughout their time with the organization. Not only was I feeling the buzz but also other members of staff was pleased and proud that the support from the staff and other organizations. The resident was anxious and nervous as his viewing was arranged for today and he was skeptical going on his own, it was arranged that a member of staff would go along with him to ease this anxiety. He was also unsure as to the property’s whereabouts and so I had printed off a clear view of directions so he and the member of staff was able to get to the viewing on time and ensure they would not get lost. Works cited Adler, Ronald B; Towne, Neil, “Looking Out/ Looking In” Harcourt Brace College, 1999. Brent, Rebecca, Anderson, Patricia “Developing Children’s Classroom Listening Strategies” 1993 (page 108) Driscoll J.J “Reflective Practice for Practice- A Framework of Structured Reflection for Clinical Areas” Senior Nurse. 1994 (47-50) Read More