Effective Communication and Verbal Communication Skills - Essay Example

Verbal Communication Skills” As a nurse in health care settings it is very important to be able to communicate well with patients. One of my weaknesses happens because I am a foreign speaker and I speak fast and with an accent. This means that some people will ask me to repeat myself. For this essay, I will focus on my speech, and how I can improve it within multicultural settings. I will also set an action plan for improving my skills in this area of communication (Appendix I). Every act of ours is directed to some or the other form of communication, verbal or non-verbal gestures. Verbal communication is an ability that everyone should develop to improve their interactions with others and to help them build relationships. In nursing, it is imperative to have excellent communication skills in order to have an enormous understanding about the feelings and sufferings of the patients. The profession desires good command over the words, using appropriate word not only enhances communication and understanding with the patient but also clarifies the precise meaning of the words. According to Beyea (2004) “verbal communication is a primary way in which vital information about a patients status and care is transmitted”. The Department of Health has also stressed the importance of verbal communication in their Essence of Care benchmarks. They stated that communication should be adapted to meet the needs of people, carers and groups. This was further supported by Terrado et al (2001). Terrado’s team firmly believes that nurses are required to have an effectual communication skills because of they are in the first position to contact with the patient and represent the healthcare team for patient’s appraisal. It is therefore it is essential that they have appropriate communication skills to be beneficial and supportive to the patients especially to those who need intense care like dysphagia and stroke patients and those who are paralysed and need thorough care for their recovery. I agree with these findings because as a student, I believe that learning better communication skills are the most imperative errand to my career. It is an indispensable part of my role and duty while in placement at University and later when I am serving the human beings. It is essential to for me to understand the cultural differences which are very sensitive issue that result in some kind of misinterpretation of my words or other’s words. Misconception could be devastating as can be understood with the help of Appendix 3. The prime responsibility of the nurse is to provide humane and quality care to whatever division of hospital she belongs or to whatever illness the patient is going through and this is only possible with one aid that is effective communication. A thorough understanding about the patient his needs his psychology has a great impact on the pace of patient’s recovery. A positive attitude from the nurses will enable the patient to feel free in expression, good communication skill also helps to make the patient understand his dos’ and don’ts and this facilitate complete co-operation from the patient moreover it does not make the patient feel lonely and creates a willingness to lead a healthy life. All these psychological findings have acknowledged me to have a positive approach towards communication not only with the patients but also with physicians to have a congenial and progressive clinical environment. It is vital to understand that life depends on communication, how effectively we communicate leads to better understanding about us and about the surrounding environment. This view was appreciated by Geeta and Long (2000), who state that as professionals, the clinical environment can help us to become more effective in the complex interaction settings. Therefore, efficient and clear communication underpins and provides the best outcomes to the patient and to their standard of care. It is because of tonsillectomy, verbal communication has been an issue for me for the past two years. Due to variation in voice quality I rather prefer silence which is cumbersome in the sense that hampers my professionalism. On the other hand, the melody of my speech and my accent is intrinsically linked to my mother language, culture and my upbringing. I recognize that my cultural ways do not always fit in to the society I presently belong. It has given me strength and understanding that, culture does influence our perception, action and response to our environment. Williams and Davis (2005) define culture as, the sum total of behavioural norms, methods of communication, patterns of thinking, and beliefs and values of a designed group of people. This paves the way for the thought that good communication leaves no space of doubt for listeners, because by creating a doubt one losses integrity as well as believability, it is therefore essential that one should express and speak exactly what is meant rather than opening a chapter for guess work! (Good Verbal Communication Skills). I understood that in order to be explicit in expression one should have a positive and good communication skill. The pace of communication should be such that it is transmitted with an indulgence. This is holistic caring approach as stated by Eliopoulous (2004) holistic caring and nurturing of self-awareness of our weakness is a healthy balance and can increase productivity and fuller participation in clinical experience. I believe this to be true in the clinical sense and in the way that clinicians must communicate. All these lead a step to concise areas where I need to improve for my verbal communication. They are summarized as: 1. I need to speak clearly and slowly to be understood. 2. I need to pay attention to whom and from where the information is being delivered. 3. I need to learn how to reflect and listen to the emotional impact so that I can create a congenial environment for positive feedback. 4. I need to reassure that patients understand the contents of the message I want to transmit. 5. I will speak directly to patients and learn to facilitate eye contact where appropriate. 6. I would like to develop more of reading habits so as to gain further command over the language to be more explicit. All these skills will potentially enable me to be an effective communicator. I will definitely incorporate all my potentials, empathy and also introspective behaviour to be a proficient and successful communicator. Given the opportunity to improve my communication skills, with patients or the general public, I will identify my communication skills and eliminate those that deprive me from communicating effectively. It is important for me to consider the different patterns of verbal communication between cultures, because there are and always will be differences in acceptable levels of verbal and non-verbal communication. I will address behaviour and displays of emotion that can cause problems with communication between patient and health providers. It entails the ability to deal with multicultural issues that can be learned through impression management in order to create and maintain positive perceptions of myself and others. According to Collins (2009), "… effective communication is, therefore, more than delivery, quality, patient-centred care. It is also the vehicle through which patients involvement is optimised. In my point of view, his statement reinforces that verbal communication works two ways, within the information between the two people communicating. Sometimes to be understood depends on who you are speaking with and what the communication is conveying. The age, background, culture of the patient and the condition of disease takes the conversation to a different aspect; this cannot be ignored and must be taken into one’s consideration. It is the leading duty of any health practitioner to perceive and grasp the psychology of the patient and even if the patient is not willing to co-operate in a positive manner then also one has to motivate with an understanding and positivity so that his participation can be formulated. This is the most difficult and vital task that requires patience and I will master this skill in order to be a great communicator. This thought further gained weight with the view that people who are positive in terms of language they speak are alleged to be more action and outcome oriented (Good verbal communication skills). Another aspect to be taken into consideration is the health care settings. Staff must understand that the tone and pitch of voices and the emphasis that we put on our words or phrases also convey meaning. The variety of accents can add richness to whatever language that is spoken. However, communication is a highly individual activity that can be confusing to those who are not familiar with them and can be intertwined with other factors leading to misrepresentation as well as our verbal and non-verbal cues. These cues will be a part of how we perceive a situation which in turn will define how people will behave in a situation. The challenge is that what a person perceives about a certain situation can lead to misinterpretations. What is believed about another persons underlying intentions will affect judgement about that person. When communicating across cultures, we can also use non-verbal cues that include gestures, facial expressions and signals. As an example, when I was doing my placement at a small community hospital, I was asked to help a deaf patient with his daily hygiene needs. I used a mixture of verbal gestures to explain the procedures and I found it interesting because he understood what I was saying. He was laughing at me sometimes when he saw me and I got the impression that he was happy with the care I delivered to him without ambiguity or excessive yelling involved. In other words, I understood that although he was deaf, we were still able to communicate easily. My verbal communication after the practice experience assured me that this type of communication cannot be totally independent from non-verbal communication because it may not always convey the message we want to transmit into different health care environments. We have to take into consideration the context we are in with the patient and their uniqueness in understanding. Some of the findings that helped me to rule out the drawbacks that are prevailing in my communication skills are Assertiveness: the confidence that I need to build while expressing myself and I have to overcome the culture bias attitude and will never frame any kind of negative temperament about my potentials. I am confident that I have enough potential to pave my way even in culturally different environment. I will take the responsibilities with confidence and will avoid the language of victimisation and I will avoid blaming others for any kind of past misfortunes, because if I keep blaming others the message that is conveyed is I lack the power to control my life and this will diminish my self esteem. Thus now on I will not whine or moan about anything including cultural differences as it is a challenge to me to be an effective communicator under unusual conditions. I will take this as motivation and will fill myself with a feeling that when the weather is fine everyone can fly but a successful person flies even in unfavourable conditions!( Good verbal communication skills). I will have an approach of win-win and will look for an outcome where maximum benefit can be procured. I will always speak decisively and will never try to give meaningless waffle but always be explicit, precise and yet complete in imparting my message. We are learning from others as life is constant learning phase, so I will always be alert to have a good grasp over the situation and also open myself to learn from other’s experiences, this sharing comes again with effective communication and for this I must avoid weak language, hesitation and fillers (Good verbal communication skills). Apologies: A good and perfect communication does not involve inappropriate and frequent use of apologies, it is therefore imperative to understand my weakness and not to project it in front of everyone but rather try to gain control over it. This will help me maintain my integrity (Good verbal communication skills). According to Hinchliff et al (2003) nurses play a fundamental role as they are in constant contact with the patients and provide the feedback about patient’s progress to the physicians. It is therefore desired that they must be good in communication skills to impart correct and logical information both to patient and also to the physician. These are the crucial parameters which maintain autonomy, dignity and above all trust of the patient on the care taking nursing staff and also the physicians. I have understood that good communication skills ensure not only holistic care but also throws a great impact on the patient’s psychological well being which enable their speedy recovery and formulating a bond of trust between the nurses and patients. I will appreciate and follow Gibbs model of reflection (1988) (Appendix 2) After writing this essay, I acknowledge that I can improve my verbal communication with time. By reflecting upon the barriers and the ways to overcome them, I have identified my strengths and weaknesses within my communication skills. I have taken the necessary measures to improve my skills by setting feasible strategies and ethos to do so which I will improve during my pre-registration training. References Beyea, Suzanne C. 2004. Improving verbal communication in clinical care. Available at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_5_79/ai_n6074289/. [Accessed on 5 January, 2010]. Caris-Verhallen, W.M.C., de Gruijter, I.M., Kerkstra, A & Bensing, J.M. 1999. Factors related to nurse communication with elderly people. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30 (5), 1106-1117. Available at CINAHL database. AN: 2000009995. [Accessed on 02 December 2009]. Christine L. W. 2008. Therapeutic Interaction in Nursing Cross-cultural communication. 2nd Edition. London: Jones and Barrett. Collins, S. 2009. Good communication helps to build a therapeutic relationship. Nursing Times, 105 (24), pp.11-14. [Accessed: 01 December 2009]. Department of Health. 2003. Essence of Care: Benchmarks for communication between patients, carers and health care personnel. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4005475. [Accessed on 05 January 2010] Edwina A.M. 2000. Communication systems make a caring connection. Nursing Management 31 (2) 49-52. Available at http www.proquest.com/ [Accessed on 01 December 2009]. Eliopoulos C. 2004. Invitation to holistic health. Toronto: Jones & Barlett. Geeta, C. and Long, A. 2000. Communication. Communication is the essence of nursing care 2: ethical foundations. British Journal Of Nursing. 9 (14). pp. 931-938. Available at CINHL database. AN: 2000060824. [Accessed on 01 December 2009]. Good verbal communication skills. Available at http://www.eruptingmind.com/good-verbal-communication-skills/. [Accessed on 19th January 2010]. Hinchliff, S. et al .2003. Nursing Practice and Healthcare. London: Arnold Jasper, M. 2003. Beginning Reflective practice: Foundation in nursing and health care. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd. Nursing & Midwifery Council. 2008. The code standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nursing and midwives. Available at http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=3056/ [Accessed on 01 December 2009]. Online Newsletter. Available at http://www.itstime.com/aug97.htm. [Accessed on 19th January 2010]. Tongue, S. 2007. Every day brings a first impression. Nursing Standard. 22 (4). pp.59– 65. Available at OVID database. [Accessed on 01 December 2009]. Terrado, M. et al. 2001. Dysphagia: An Overview. BNet Healthcare Willaims, C.L., Davis, C.M. 2005. Therapeutic interaction in nursing. MA: Jones and Bartlett. Available at http://books.google.com/books?id= xwOd0PcEdtoC&printsec=copyright&source=gbs_pub_info_s&cad=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false. [Accessed: 01 December 2009]. Appendix I Learning need Rationale Learning experience required Action to be taken Evaluation of outcome Speak confidentially and clear Listen to patients and make sure they understand me Take necessary approach to learn by listening to others Practice to talk clearly and slowly Improve all the time by reflecting Use others means of communication to reinforce my speech Speaking only what is necessary for the context Listening patently to others when they are speaking. Looking their body language to understand their message Be aware of myself weakness while speaking and try to be fluent If aware that the flow of my message is not correct and clear, improve it by seeking help Think first and speak after Make sense about the meaning of my conversation Adapt my speech by listening and learning the language standard Phrase the contents of the speech Accordingly with client level of understanding before speaking I must not Speak half words. Improve constantly my communication skills, by listening feedback Appendix 2 Gibbs model of reflection (1988) Appendix 3 (Online Newsletter) Read More