Communication and Interpersonal Skill - Essay Example

? Communication and Interpersonal skill It is believed that in order to for human beings to survive in a society it is necessary for them to communicate. Is that why man is a social animal? To be accurate, it is true and very much factual. Human beings cannot survive if they are unable to communicate and lack interpersonal skills. The definition of the term communication has been provided by Littlejohn & Foss (2011: pp.3) “Those situations in which a source transmits a message to a receiver with conscious intent to affect the latter’s behavior.” This specifies that the process of expressing thoughts and messages through language or actions is called communication. Hence, it verifies that without the help of communication human beings cannot continue to exist. Especially without speech, because it is thought to be exceedingly imperative as we need to slot in and complete very complex everyday jobs involving collaboration. To validate that proper communication you should be is indispensable; Bach & Grant (2009) said “There are times, though, when we experience situations where we consider that an interaction did not go smoothly; perhaps we were misunderstood or a friend reacted differently to how we expected.” Explaining the importance of communication in nursing, another important term with reference to communication is ‘approaching skills’, these skills are meant to make the communicator feel safe, respected and understood. Having a non-judgmental attitude is one of these. As Petersen (2007: pp.96) has verified “Listening to understand requires a non-judgmental attitude that can go against what most of us were taught, that is, to listen for rights and wrongs.” In terms of specified case example we can view a particular case in which I being a nurse confronted an individual who had been in an accident and was put forward in an orthopedic ward. On discovering that he was HIV positive, this young to be groom was utterly depressed. I felt extremely sorry for this individual and was unable to express my emotions due to my profession’s nature. To converse with this particular individual I required to master in interpersonal and communicational skills. Therefore, the significance of interpersonal and communicational skills has been discussed with reference to the case through which I experienced in the following procession. In order to analyze my situation it is better that I first have an understanding of what inter personal skills denote and signify. This has been done by using two models in the paper. According to Hayes (2002: pp.19) in order to comprehend the method of circulating interpersonal skills it is crucial to “be aware of how the hierarchical model of interpersonal skills can be used to help individuals to critically assess the effectiveness of their social skills at every level.” Therefore, my case and the provided model below have been examined side by side in order to achieve the required goal as my scenario can be explained well through these two models. My situation can be labeled more as an intricate human confrontation, as it made it difficult for me to be able to connect properly with the patient without being involved in the feelings rotating around us. Through the tool of proper communication skills both me and the patient, were able to bond (in the manner that my profession required) without effecting or violating the rules of formal interaction. Consequently, proper practiced and understood communication skills of the patient would have made it easier for me to formulate appropriate interactional technique and his provided interpersonal skills would have simplified the state of affairs. According to Egan (2007: pp.91) the important part of stage I of the entire communicational process and situation is “helping clients tell their stories, plus the communicational skills needed throughout the entire helping process.” He further verifies that “The communication skills are the essential components of the therapeutic dialogue between helper and client.” In medical care and concern, it has been researched that dealing with the patients is the most important field of consideration. The groups or factions that rotate around the communication zone of any patient play a vital role in setting the atmosphere in accordance to the patient’s requirements, for which developed appropriate communication and interpersonal skills are required. As my section of nurses and fosterers along with doctors perform vitally as well hence, it was necessary that they were aware of how to interact with our patients staying put with the formal or professional regulations. Kneedler & Dodge (1994: pp.5) stated that “Nursing ethics are an integral part of any nursing philosophy and perioperative patient care.” Hence, how I communicated with the patient affected the interaction and tagged the conversation as explicable or inexplicable. It was necessary for me to keep it together even though it is human nature to feel a rush of emotions in accordance to the circumstances. But as my professional status required no such emotional contact, balancing appropriate skills during the communication were difficult to cope with. I avoided using any sorts of complex medical terms as it might have made the situation a bit more difficult. Hence, when I used easier terms the patient was at ease in understanding me and we bonded in a much better way. Respect is something that the more you give it the more you get it, which is why I talked to the patient with utmost respect and reverence; this made him feel valued and esteemed. I completely realized that in order to bond in the provided way we needed to develop mutual understanding, which we smoothly did after overcoming all sorts of minor errors. I succeeded to communicate by handling all his requests and complaints in a skilful manner and swiftly. I know this sounds easier said than done but I tried all that I could in order to listen to what he said and by facilitating him with solutions regarding any ambiguities. Whenever a procedure or test came up I explained it to him and gave details about how it would work. What I noticed throughout the communication process was that the patient disliked any sorts of inappropriate attitudes. Hence, I tried my best not to show any. I provided all sorts of privacy and maintained discretion as it made it made him comfortable. These methods of communicating with my patient helped me in staying away from any misunderstandings or ambiguities from both the sides. Sheldon (2009: pp.53) expresses her thought by saying that “Good communication skills make the difference between average and great nursing care.” Ellis, Gates et al (2001: pp.73) stated that “When two people engage in conversation much more is taking place than the observer sees.” Therefore, it was necessary to maintain an open conversation, specifically in my scenario. But I kept the bad and good points of the situation in mind, as I am human being and I experienced a rush of emotions on the presented depressiveness of my patient. But as mentioned before that the professional ethics prevent me from applying any sorts of emotional attachments, hence, the rights and wrongs of such situation that came forward are discussed in detail. With a head full of perplexed thoughts and emotions I would have been unable to connect with the patient who was already going through a tough phase of depressiveness. Hence, I approached the patient with a neutrally concerned dialogue. It would have been wrong if I had completely conversed coldly which makes it more difficult for any patient to bond. Therefore, my task was to approach the patient regardless of the nature of the message that was to be delivered. Other than that the approaching skills that I managed during the interaction were handled through questions, as Servellen (1997: pp.105) has stated that “Perhaps the basic use of questions is merely to begin the dialogue. Questions provide an invitation to patients to take part in their assessment.” Some other things that I kept in mind while approaching him included; I tried to fit interpersonal skills to eliminate stress together and integrated them into the procedure and practiced them. This in turn strengthened my relationship with the patient. Hough (2010: pp.1) believes that approaching skills during communication create “confidential and non judgmental form of helping” and that “it entails a special kind of listening called ‘active listening’.” Keeping in view my patient’s situation various techniques of behavior were brought in light. Some important types of human behaviors which I carried in my mind throughout the procedure included the Behavior of Person-In-Environment, Professional Social Work Practice, Classical Psychoanalytical Thought, Freudian Technique, Eriksonian Technique, Cognitive Behavior Technique and Feminist Belief. But the technique which has been chosen to be discussed included the Cognitive behavior technique. The most suitable theoretical technique which I studied in detail to process the communicational behavior of both me and my patient was the Cognitive Behavior Technique. Stoudemire (1998: pp.183) “Behavior is defined objectively and in such a way that it can be measured reliably.” As this approach would have solved problems concerning the dysfunction of his emotions, it would have systematically helped in managing his behavior and cognitions as well. Freshwater (2005: pp.90) states that this behavior technique “enables the patient to hear their thoughts and feelings aloud in the context of an empathic situation.” With reference to the analysis it was verified that the CBT needed to be selected as the best option of approach by me. What is Cognitive Behavioral Technique? How did it work in my circumstance? What were its effects and upshots? These important questions shall be conferred to in detail. As the patient was dealing with depression hence, I used this technique to support his melancholy. The manner in which I approached the patient includes a combination of techniques which helped me communicate with the patient without violating my professional ethics. Firstly I approached the patient in our primary interaction at a slow pace, for which I started a small slow talk and slowly moved towards the issue that had caused the stress to accumulate in the atmosphere. The second technique which I used to approach the patient was by preventing automatic negative thinking (ANTs). This was done by breaking the vicious cycle of negative thoughts which were building in his mind and by raising a provoking question like “Would you really let something like this get in your way?” To elaborate this Ledley, Marx and Heimberg (2010: pp.5) have labeled this technique to be “Basically a working hypothesis of how the client’s particular problems can be understood in terms of the cognitive behavioral model.” Another helpful technique was the approval paradox which suggests that the badness and goodness of an object shall be defined without the negative feeling, as it fits into reality. Hence, what I actually did was that after making provoking questions I tried my best to make him realize that just because something that was meant to happen isn’t positive doesn’t mean that it should be rejected. Borcherdt (1996: pp.172), put forth that “Alternative views of happiness that reflect individual differences, optional feelings and behavioral states, e.g., meaning and vital absorption as an ongoing search, directly related to expectations, and varying degrees of this state of mind should be proposed.” Hence, such a technique that raised rational and helpful self statements and made them automatic as the patient continued to move his self statement up and increased the positivity. Even though the patient’s condition was surely one of misery, I still applied the cognitive behavioral technique of making him realize that he rather stopped believing the old inner voices that depress him. The most important method was by talking the patient into determination. By which he could have got focused and could steer towards a goal. Also I finally approached the patient with a question and turned it into finality that ‘what is it that the patient is now focusing on?’ This process is also referred to as clear motivational interviewing and it has been verified by Rollnick, Miller & Butle (2008: pp.12) that “One of the most striking features of MI is a feeling that you get in the consultation, almost tangible, that your stance in relation to the patient is easy and less conflict-ridden.” To be more specific and to be able to understand the situation in a better manner I chose the Egan’s Model of approach which is well known as a helper model as Wosket (2006: pp.93) states that this model is influential “due to its skills-based approach, which enables trainees to understand and apply the helping process in manageable, incremental steps.” We are provided with a prearranged and resolution alert basis by Gerard Egan’s Skilled Helper Model of advancement. This model consists of three stages according to which I used a technique to help the client move forwards step by step not through counseling rather by approaching and communicating in a manner that related to the above model and research. This was done by using these basic abilities in suitable manners. The work was structured and the efficiency was increased in a more rational way. But this model could not have been applied completely as my profession of being a nurse and the situation did not allow a therapeutic relationship to develop. Hence, I gathered the following points from Egan’s theoretical model and applied them in the above scenario which might have helped the patient in a better and unfailing manner, being less reliant upon their changeable ‘curative inspiration’. I approached him with open-ended questions, which left a greater amount of space for him to communicate and talk more. Besides proving Mishler’s (1984: pp.154) statement that such questions “produced a certain type of cohesiveness of discourse.” it also helped me in understanding how he felt in a better way. I maintained silence whilst the patient spoke, so that it didn’t make him think that I was not paying attention or he was being ignored. I focused without judgment as doing so helped the patient feel at ease and open up regarding any uncomfortable feelings or misunderstandings. I reached to the conclusion that the process of empathizing shall be avoided yet formal understanding shall be presented by. I paraphrased any sorts of news and information which resulted in the sharing of any further questions by the patient with me. The structuring of the communication methods and techniques was also kept in mind by me in order to maintain a controlled formal relationship. Hence, I was able to help and communicate with the patient throughout his depressive phase successfully as the skill here was to communicate with the patient in planning the next steps in such a way that the strategy was broken down into tiny steps. I had to be careful of the above mentioned techniques to keep my professional regulations in place. Egan’s (2007) model has been verified as a map that guides a helper to know what to do while interacting with clients. It has been regarded to as an orientation of ourselves when we try to understand where the relationship of us and our client is heading to and what sorts of techniques would be of help. The fact that everything is not perfect shall not be forgotten. Why so? The answer is that in order to make this assessment a success I should have also kept in mind what things could have went wrong. Now the common thought that might pop in our minds would probably be ‘what would go wrong then?’ Breaking the ice, we better bring forth the difficulties I and my patients might have went through while dealing interacting. Mentioned below are the intricacies that showed up during this process. My patient did not feel at ease in opening up and discussing in details with me in the first group of our interactions. But through verbal assurance and compatibility I tried not to force him into doing so. In the communicational sessions I tried that no such points would appear which would leave a hole somewhere in the entire procedure, for which I gave the patient space and time as I left him with a question to ponder upon every time I had to leave. As the patient was suffering from depression there were chances that he might have got anxious at any provoking news and reports which may or may not have caused panic attacks. Hence, I avoided any sorts of statements which would vex the conversation instead I made it simpler for him to understand and comprehend what I meant. To teach people how to deal with their problems is the main goal of CBT. With the help of this belief it would was possible for me to communicate with the patient in a way that made him realize that avoiding the fact that he is HIV positive and developing negative thoughts would fan his fears. With the help of interpersonal skills I was able to give the patient some faith and ability to cope with his emotions. The patient may or may not have learnt to trace his problems and solve them but he for sure learnt how to make judgments and look at them more sensibly. Sully & Dallas (2005) has stated that “Effective communication skills are crucial in all aspects of nursing practice” Therefore, I played a vital role in changing the thinking of the patient through communicational and interpersonal skills. At first it appeared that the communication process would have been extremely slow and difficult in terms of turns. But if we examine the situation closely we can validate that people resort to a variety of verbal and non-verbal behavior in order to preserve a leveled flow of communique. Hence, a exquisite behavior which shows off well managed communication and interpersonal skills not only includes head-nods, smiles, frowns, bodily contact, eye movements, laughter, body posture, language, but it also demonstrates the methods by which an individual bonds with other people. Therefore, the importance of communication skills in all aspects of life which include medicine, politics, socializing, institutional organization and personal contacts, is unavoidable. References Bach, S. and Grant, A., 2009. Communication and interpersonal skills for nurses (transforming nursing practice). Exeter: Learning Matters. Borcherdt, B., 1996. Fundamentals of cognitive-behavior therapy: From both sides of the desk. New York: The Haworth Press. Egan, G., 2007. The skilled helper: A problem management and opportunity-development approach to helping. 9th ed. Belmont: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Ellis, R.B., Gates, B. and Kenworthy, N., 2001. Interpersonal communication in nursing. 2nd ed. London: Churchill and Livingstone. Freshwater, D., 2005. Counselling skills for nurses, midwives and health visitors. Maidenhead: Open University. Hayes, J., 2002. Interpersonal skills at work. East Sussex: Routledge. Hough, M., 2010. Counselling skills and theory. 3rd Ed. London: Hodder Arnold. Kneedler, J.A. and Dodge, G.H., 1994. Perioperative patient care: The nursing perspective. 3rd ed. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett. Ledley, D.R., Marx, B.P and Heimberg, R.G., 2010. Making cognitive-behavioral therapy work: Clinical process for new practitioners. New York: The Guilford Press. Littlejohn, S.W. and Foss, K.A., 2011. 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