This is a critical analysis of a student’s use and understanding of communication techniques during a ten minute simulated interaction with a woman in labour.
The purpose of this written critique, is to enable the student to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in the use of their communication skills, observed during the recorded interaction. These skills are broken down into areas of interpersonal skills, which are; physical behaviour, active listening, questions and verbal responses; voice, manner and self-awareness. This model of communication that is being used was developed by Hargie and Dickson (2004c).
A definition of communication according to Badham (2003, p. 1) is:
“A process that involves a meaningful exchange between at least two people to convey facts, needs, opinions, thoughts, feelings or other information through both verbal and non-verbal means, including face to face exchanges and the written word.”
McCabe and Timmins (2006) States that this type of interaction would take place within the context of a relationship, where mutual trust and understanding has formed, for a midwife to develop this type of relationship, compassion and empathy are key skills. As stated by Siddiqui. (1999, p. 113) “By utilizing an empathetic approach, the midwife is able to display an understanding of the woman’s perspective, to: ‘walk in the other’s shoes’. It is an attempt to ‘touch’ the other person on a spiritual dimension”.
It was noted that the student approached the woman directly, but there was a marked hesitation before she introduced herself and explained why she was there. The introduction itself was professional and friendly, with open body language, as the woman was bending over the chair in the middle of a contract...
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...McCabe C. & Timmins F., (eds.) (2006) Communication Skills for Nursing Practice. Palgrave and MacMillan, Houndmills.
Nelson-Jones R., (1991) Practical Counselling and Helping Skills. 2nd edn. Cassell, London.
O’Driscoll M., (1997) Interpersonal skills. In Essential Midwifery. (Henderson C. & Jones K., eds), Mosby, London, pp. 421-440.
Pratt J., (1994) Counselling Skills for Professional Helpers. Central Book Publishing, London. p. 12.
Perry B. (1996) Influence of nurse gender on the use of silence, touch and humour. International. Journal of Palliative Nursing. 2, 7-14.
Siddiqui J. (1999) The therapeutic relationship in midwifery. British Journal of Midwifery. 7(2), 111-114.
Sully P. & Dallas J., (2010) Empathy and comfort skills. In Essential Communication Skills for Nursing and Midwifery. 2nd edn, (Sully P. & Dallas J., eds), Mosby Elsevier, Edinburgh. pp. 59-84.
The 6 C’s of Nursing form the backbone to high quality nursing care (Cummings 2012). They consist of courage, commitment, competence, care, compassion and communication. Initially they were formed in response to the failings that occurred at the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, therefore leading to the development of the Francis Report, which highlighted a whole system breakdown (Francis 2013). The main aim of their development was to reintroduce the importance of these core values to the success of nursing care. Communication is defined by the Chambers Dictionary as the process of imparting information to another person, via correspondence that may be verbal, non-verbal or written contact (Schwarz 1994). This definition is supported
...., Johnson, D., & Thomas, C. M. (2009). The sbar communication technique: teaching nursing students professional communication skills. Nurse Educator, 34(4), 176-180.
Wondrak, R. (2004) Interpersonal Skills for Nurses and Health Care Professionals. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd
Bylund, C., Peterson, E., & Cameron, K. (2011). A practitioner’s guide to interpersonal communication theory: An overview and exploration of selected theories. Patient Education and Counselling. Volume 87. Issue 3. Pages 261- 267. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2011.10.006.
Since the institution of nursing was first established, care has remained the primary component. Being able to provide care to patients on an emotional level is another example of the distinctive power that nurses uphold. Generally, the nurse is the predominant choice of the patient when he/she must determine who best to confer with or share personal thoughts or concerns with, as well as who the patient trusts most with management of their own well-being. This form of day-to-day, intimate patient-nurse relationship is a powerful component of
“Communication is the heart of nursing… your ability to use your growing knowledge and yourself as an instrument of care and caring and compassion” (Koerner, 2010, as cited in Balzer-Riley, 2012, p. 2). The knowledge base which Koerner is referring to includes important concepts such as communication, assertiveness, responsibility and caring (Balzer-Riley, 2012). Furthermore, communication is complex. It includes communication with patients, patient families, doctors, co-workers, nurse managers and many others. Due to those concepts and the variety of people involved, barriers and issues are present. Knowing how to communicate efficiently can be difficult.
The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 8, ‘Developing Skills in Communication’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Therapeutic relationships are an essential part of nursing; they are the foundation of nursing (CNO, 2009). The National Competency Standard for Registered Nurses states that nurses are responsible for “establishing, sustaining and concluding professional relationships with individuals/groups.” Throughout this essay, the importance of forming therapeutic relationships will be explained. The process of building a therapeutic relationship begins prior to time of contact with a patient, the interpersonal skills of the nurse; then the process includes skills required by the nurse to communicate effectively, including respect, trust, non-judgment and empathy. The way to portray these skills can be via verbal or non-verbal cues that are important to understand how they influence a person.
A therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is outlined as a helping relationship grounded on shared respect, trust, the encouragement of having faith and hope in oneself and others, and emotional support (Pullen et al., 2010). In doing so, the nurse can establish complete satisfaction of the patients needs, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. This relationship produces when the patient and the nurse come together in harmony and peace (Pullen et al., 2010). Efficient verbal and nonverbal communication is an essential aspect of interaction between nurse and patient – in doing this, the patient feels on par with the nurse, as an equal, rather than having no indication of what procedures are taking place (Pullen et al., 2010).
Pairman,S., Tracy, S., Thorogood, C., & Pincombe, J. (2013). Theoretical frameworks for midwifery practice. Midwifery: Preparation for practice.(2nd ed, pp. 313-336). Chatswood, N.S.W. : Elsevier Australia
Webb, L. & Holland, K. (2011). Nursing: Communication Skills in Practice. Nursing Education in Practice. Retrieved from http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/docview/1446976140?accountid=13380.
Interpersonal relations Theory Mirelle Avila Universidad del Turabo Theoretical Foundations of the Advance Practice Nurse nur 500 Juan Ramirez September 23, 2015 Running head: 1 INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS THEORY 1
Therapeutic communication is an important skill for a nurse to utilize when it comes to relationships between the patient and nurse. In Regina’s case, integration of empathetic and compassionate communication skills in combinat...
A) Nurses play a special role interacting and building relationships with patients, mediating between patients and doctors, and calming patients amongst a stressful, emotional, and even chaotic atmosphere. When patients hear bad news, nurses are a source of comfort and support with words of encouragement and heart-warming smiles. Genuine compassion, emotional strength, and mental stability are required in order to support and protect a patient’s well being. Furthermore, nurses must primarily acknowledge the patient as an individual rather than a person with an illness and present themselves as a trustworthy companion rather than an obligatory caregiver. Nursing has many attractive qualities because they play various, but crucial, roles outside
Another concern that some students might have is communication. Some students might not need to have a teacher in front of them and teach the course material to them, to whereas some students might need the te...