Importance of Communication in Radiography - Essay Example

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN RADIOGRAPHY IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN RADIOGRAPHY Paediatric radiography Paediatric radiology can simply be referred to as a subspecialty field in radiology, dedicated to the delivery of radiology services to foetuses, toddlers, younger children, adolescents, and other young adults (Jootun and McGhee, 2010). Because of the nature of the paediatric radiography, which normally target people who are not adults, it is very common to find a paediatric radiographer working at a children’s hospital (Makely, 2000). One thing that makes the need for a specialised field for children in radiography is because of the differences in anatomical characteristics between children and adults (Scott, 2007). This means that the body’s development plan and function does not follow the same way for adults and children and thus the need to give special treatment to children. The importance of communication between radiographer and paediatric patient aged over 3 years Communication has been identified to be one of the most important determinants of success in paediatric radiography, especially for patients who are aged three years and above. This is because through communication, the radiographer is able to attain what is known as a patient-centred care (Phillips, 2011). What this means is that the service rendered becomes directly focused on the patient so that the needs of the patient can better understood and delivered accordingly. What is more, communication ensures that the patient can also understand the work of the radiographer and what the radiographer expects from him or her to achieve success (Reynolds, 2009). Communication therefore results in cooperative service delivery as part of patient-centred care. Below is a diagram outlining the full importance of patient-centred care. Source: Philips (2012) How does well communication affect in radiation dose reduction in paediatric radiography As indicated earlier, communication ensures that the patient and the radiographer understand each other. In most cases, this is translated directly into the dosage of radiation, which leads to dose reduction in paediatric radiography (Stewart, 2005). This is because, through effective communication for example, the patient can clearly refer to the exact point where there is a problem. Meanwhile, depending on the point of imaging, different radiation dose may apply (Siegler, 1998). What is more, communication makes it possible for the patient, who is a child of 3 years or more to indicate the specific measure of pain or discomfort being felt. Meanwhile, radiation dose is very much determined by the extent of pain (Bastable, 2008). From these points, it can be said that effective communication helps the radiographer to have a better understanding of the radiation dose so that more dose will not be given than expected. Very often, overdose has been reported to be present where the radiographer makes assumptions for the patient without taking time to effectively communicating with the patient to know the exact extent of problem. Effect of well communication on Patient Services quality From the figure 1, three outcomes of patient-centred care given are improved efficiency, improved safety, and improved patient satisfaction (Phillips, 2012). Since effective communication has been noted to lead to patient-centred care, it can therefore be said that effective communication helps to achieve each of these three outcomes. Meanwhile, these outcomes have been attributed to be part of patient services quality. In the first place, effective communication leads to improved efficiency as part of patient services quality because the radiographer is able to achieve so much within very short time when there is better understanding with the patient (Scott, 2007). Once the radiographer is able to attain much health outcome within a short time frame, it is said that efficiency is achieved. The reason better understanding between the radiographer and patient will ensure that much health outcome is achieved in a short time is that the radiographer can be precise with what needs to be done instead of embarking on trial and error. Secondly, effective communication leads to improved safety because most actions during paediatric radiography that may possibly increase risk for the patient are avoided through the communication process. An example for the above position can be given with a situation where the radiographer avoids repeated ionising radiation due to misinterpretation of pain spots or extent of pain. Meanwhile, there are clearly identified risks with ionising radiation, which calls for much caution during the practice (Bastable, 2008). What is more, because effective communication makes it possible for the radiographer to know the exact extent of dosage to employ, chances of overdose, which could be risky to the health of the patient, are avoided (Jootun and McGhee, 2010). Again, effective communication with paediatric patients aged over three can lead to patient satisfaction because the above outcomes of efficiency and safety can give the patient a sense of assurance and guarantee that they have received good service from the radiographer. It is known for instance that where there is efficiency, recovery rates are higher (Reynolds, 2009). Meanwhile, every child who recovers quickly gets satisfied for the service received. Paediatric radiographers must therefore not be deceived by the sense of judgment of these children but strive to give satisfactory service, based on effective communication. Importance of Training in Communication It is always important to know that training plays very special and important role in determining the level of effectiveness with the communication that radiographers will give (Femia, 2012). What this means is that having the realisation that communication in paediatric radiography does not necessarily guarantee that a radiographer will do this well. To be guaranteed of effective communication, it is important that radiographers will receive specialised training on communication, especially as in the case of Qatar, there are no paediatric radiographers and general practicing radiographers take the role of paediatric radiographers. Indeed, training in how to communicate and make friendly environment will help the radiographer to deal with paediatric patients during radiographic procedure because it will help the radiographers to know how to treat each child according to their developmental level. This is because Gold and McClung (2006) noted that generalising the needs in communication for all people under the age of 18 is a misconception. Rather, training is needed to make the radiographer know how to group children according to age and render each age group a well deserving form of communication. Apart from the radiographer who will be professionally affected positively through the training, the patient who will be receiving services from the radiographer can also be assured that there will be quality of service coming from the radiographer. In such children, one of the most outstanding examples that have been indicated as to ways of receiving service quality is in the area of pain management (Makely, 2000). Most of the time when children are brought to the radiology department and they are in so much pain, Stewart (2005) has indicated that one of the most immediate things they expect is for the radiographer to make the pain go down. Even though the radiography procedure is not a possible means to achieve such levels of pain reduction, communication can be used as a very effective tool for the child to take their minds away from the pain they may be experiencing. As main is a mental process, succeeding in making the patient forget about their pain can bring much relief to the patient (Phillips, 2011). Reference Bastable S. (2008). Nurse as Educator. 3rd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Femia J. (2012). Techs offer advice on imaging children with the Pigg-O-Stat. Adv Imaging Radiat Oncol. Vol. 19 No. 6: pp. 45-67. Gold D, and McClung B. (2006). Approaches to patient education: emphasizing the long-term value of compliance and persistence. Am J Med. 119: pp. 32-37. Jootun D. and McGhee G. (2010). Effective communication with people who have dementia. Nurs Stand. 25: pp. 40-46. Makely S. (2000). Methods for teaching effective patient communication techniques to radiography students. RadiogrToday. 56: pp. 14-15. Philips A. J. (2012). The Radiographer: Patient Education and Communication. [Online] Available at http://www.eradimaging.com/site/article.cfm?ID=786 [June 17, 2014] Phillips A. (2011). On the receiving end of quality care. ASRT Scanner. 43: p. 19. Reynolds A. (2009). Patient-centered care. Radiol Technol. 81: pp. 133-147. Scott A. (2007). Improving communication for better patient care. Radiol Technol. 78: pp. 205-218. Siegler M. (1998). The future of the doctor-patient relationship in a world of managed care. Med Secoli. 10: pp. 41-56. Stewart M. A. (2005). Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ. 152: pp.1423-1433. Read More