Barriers to Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare - Essay Example

Barriers to Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare Barriers to Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare Although health professionals may speak of being part of a team, they tend to work independently. Barriers to communication between clinical staffs often jeopardize efforts of improving quality and care safety in a healthcare setting. Even though each organization is unique, they all experience similar themes of barriers to effective communication. Key among these barriers include hierarchy, disruptive behavior, gender, personality difference, complexity of care, generational differences, culture and ethnicity, values and expectations.

Organizations that are culturally and ethnically diverse can experience these barriers since cultural differences often exacerbate problems in communications (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008). For instance, in certain cultures, individuals desist from challenging or being assertive regarding some opinions. Thus, this can present difficulties for other nurses from unrelated cultures to speak up in case they witness something wrong. Nurses can express their concerns in an indirect manner in case they come from such cultures (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2008).

In addition, cultural differences is a hindrance to nonverbal communication. For instance, some cultures attribute specific meaning to certain facial expressions, eye contact, nods of the head, tone of the voice and touch. Issues regarding gender differences in values, communication styles, and expectations are often widespread in every workplace. In the healthcare industry in which a large number of physicians are males and females form a big percentage of nurses, gender differences often accentuate communication problems (Hall, 2005).

Hierarchy difference is another key barrier to communication. In a healthcare setting where differences in hierarchy exist, individuals who are on the lower end often find it uncomfortable to speak up their concerns or problems. Intimidating behavior sometimes by high-rank individuals can hamper communication. References Hall, P. (2005). Interprofessional teamwork: Professional cultures as barriers. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(s1), 188–196. http://doi.org/10.1080/13561820500081745 O’Daniel, M.

, & Rosenstein, A. H. (2008). Professional Communication and Team Collaboration. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/