The Significance of Correct Communication in Nursing - Essay Example

Introduction Communication is an aspect which is slowly gaining relevance in all fields and the importance of it increases in case of patient centered care as human life is involved in it. The field of nursing has given utmost importance to communication and requires that people understand the different aspect of communication so that correct medication is provided to patients as per the direction of the doctors. This paper looks at evaluating the importance of communication in case of patient-centered and patient-directed care. The paper while looking into it will look into details of active listening which will cover areas like attending, observing, questioning, paraphrasing and summarizing and finally reflection of what has been understood. This will thereby help to provide the corrective directives and will ensure that the patient centered care is delivered in the best possible manner. Communication Process Communication process is a mechanism where the sender of the message codes the message and sends it to the receiver who decodes the messages and understands it so that the person can act in a correct manner. It is imperative that the message which is passed is decoded in the same sense and the person is able to act on correct lines as desired by the sender (Browning & Waite, 2010). The importance of communication in the field of nursing can be seen from the fact that doctors prescribe different meditation to patients based on different needs and requirements so if the concerned authority hasn’t listened to the message correctly mistakes are bound to happen which could be fatal. This requires that the process looks towards following the steps Attending This aspect looks at using the verbal and non verbal form of communication through which the listening skills of the nurses will be examined and will help to understand whether the nurse acts in a correct manner as to what has been said. This will look at different queues from the nurse like eye contact, body language, vocal quality and verbal tracking (Evans, Hearn, Uhlemann & Ivey, 2011). It is imperative that the speaker in the case the doctor or other concerned person is able to clearly communicate with the nurse so that correct medication is provided. The same is essential on the part of the nurse as they need to express and understand the patients so that patients are better controlled and expressive. Using different vocal language and stressing on the important points and matters is another dimension through which better communication will take place. The process of communication in case of patient centered care needs to focus on dealing with the cultural difference which is present and should be governed and developed in such a manner that complete control is exercised over body language and the person is able to express themselves in a correct way. Observing This aspect requires focusing on the verbal and non verbal cues like voice modulation, body language, eye movement and contact and similar other things. Nurses have to take special care and precaution to be able to act in a fair and just manner by observing the body language of patients. This will help them to understand the mental condition of patients reviving from ailments and will prove as a key component in providing medication. In a similar manner the different cues which doctors and other concerned person provides needs to be properly understood and expressed so that acting in the predetermined way maximizes care. This will help nurses to be able to carry out their role of providing effective medication and will prove beneficial in dealing with patients. Observing also needs to on the verbal process as it will determine and chalk out the path through which better communication dealing will take place and will provide an opportunity of providing corrective and quicker medication to the patients (Nguyen, Slater & Cyna, 2009). Observation of different forms of verbal and non verbal cues will provide the nurse with important information and ensure congruence through which overall effectiveness in providing medication will be ensured. Questioning Nurses while looking to communicate should also ensure proper questioning so that the different doubts which are present should be solved before any medication is provided as it could otherwise prove fatal. Questions from the nurses can be either open ended or close ended depending on the question which is asked and intention for which is asked (Brown, Bannigan & Gill, 2009). In a similar manner nurses should look at ensuring that their patients also question them regarding the different treatment or medication which is provided to them. The process of questioning should be carried over till the doubts get solved or the person asking the questions are satisfied with the final result. This will help to improve the process of communication and will ensure that people will act in a correct manner in which they are intended to act. Nurses and doctors along with patients through the process of questioning which engages open and close ended questions will be able to influence the mental health of patients and will be able to drive the required change in carrying out the different roles and activities which their profession demands (Montello & Bonnel, 2009). Paraphrasing & Summarizing This is indeed the final step before action takes place and sums up all what has been understood. This steps helps to understand whether the person who has been communicated has doubts or not and will be able to act in the manner in which he is intended to act. Nurses need to ensure the same by either writing it down somewhere so that they don’t forget to act in the correct manner (Castledine, 2010). This is one of the prime reasons for nurses having different files which contains the summary of the patients medication along with time and quantity which needs to be provided to the patient. In a similar manner patients are also provided with a complete direction regarding the different medicine they need to take, the time at which they need to take and the manner in which it needs to be taken. This is done to ensure that the process of communication is clear and complete and the person is able to act in a manner which will maximize the benefits procuring from it (Winokuer & Harris, 2012). Nurses and doctors have the responsibility of ensuring that the process of communication is clear so that fatal incidents don’t happen. Reflection Nurses and doctors during the process of communication also need to understand the unexpressed emotions along with the expressed ones. This will help to carry out the allocated work in the most predetermined manner and will help to ensure that better effectiveness is gained (Bryant, 2009). Nurses and doctors through the process of reflection can look into the past emotions and reactions so that better understanding of the entire process can be gained. This will help to understand the dimensions of communication through which better feelings will be expressed and corrective medication will be provided. Self assessment of active listening It is imperative that I realize the importance of active listening in communication as it helps to develop the required parameters through which corrective medication can be provided to the patients. Active listening and understanding the different dimensions will help to ensure that I will be able to understand the different needs of the patients and will thereby be able to bring a change in my behaviour through which corrective medications will be provided. This will help to improve the overall relevance of listening and communication and provide the required areas through which better communication will be ensured. Development Plan I will look towards understanding the different dimensions of communication and understand the manner in which every aspect has a role in communication can be improved. To ensure that I will make changes in my listening skills and will look to give importance to the smaller issues and matter so that better listening becomes possible. I will also look at ensuring that I ask questions and solve the different issues which I am facing so that I am clear regarding the manner in which I need to act so that the dimensions of learning help me carry out my nursing activities in a proper way. Conclusion The paper evaluates the importance of communication in case of patient-centered and patient-directed care. The paper looks into it will look into details of active listening which will cover areas like attending, observing, questioning, paraphrasing and summarizing and finally reflection of what has been understood. It has been seen that the different dimensions of listening needs to be concentrated on as every facet is equally important and missing any point will have an impact on the communication process. This will help to improve the overall process of communication and will thereby help to bring about the required changes in the behaviour so that corrective medication is provided. The process of active listening and understanding the different aspects through which communication can be improved will increase efficiency and reduce the chances of wastage thereby ensuring that all the different resources are used in the best possible manner. This will help to maximize the overall process of communication and will multiply the manner in which communication takes place in patient centered care. References Brown, C, Bannigan, K & Gill, J (2009), ‘Questioning: A critical skill in postmodern health-care service delivery’, Australian occupational therapy journal, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 206-210 Browning, S &Waite, R (2010), ’The Gift of Listening: just listening strategies’ Nursing forum vol. 45, no. 3, pp.150-158. Bryant, L (2009), ‘The art of active listening’, Practice Nurse ,vol.37,Issue 6 pp. 49-50 Castledine, G, (2010), ‘Castledine column. Observing your patient’, British Journal of Nursing, vol. 19, no. 8, pp. 543. Evans, D, Hearn, M, Uhlemann, M & Ivey, A (2011), Essential interviewing: a programmed approach to effective communication, Cengage Learning Inc McKenna, L, Innes, K, French, J, Streitberg, S & Gilmour, C (2011), ‘Is history taking a dying skill? An exploration using a simulated learning environment’, Nurse Education in Practice, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 234-238 Montello, L & Bonnel, W (2009), ‘The versatile question: Diverse uses of questioning in online and traditional learning’, Teaching and Learning in Nursing, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 71-75 Nguyen, T, Slater, P & Cyna, A (2009), ‘Open vs specific questioning during anaesthetic follow-up after caesarean section’, Journal of the association of anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 156-160 Winokuer, H & Harris, D (2012), Principles and practice of grief counselling, Springer Publishing Company, eBook. Read More