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The importance of nurse communication ability
Communication between patient and nurse
Effective communication health and social care
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This essay aims to discuss why good communication is essential in both mental health nursing child nursing. The nursing and midwifery council (NMC) code states that nurses must make the care of their patient their first concern by treating each of them as individuals and respecting their dignity.(NMC, 2008) In order to do this they must be able to communicate with their patients effectively. The code states that nurses must listen to the people in their care and respond to their concerns and preferences. They must support people in caring for themselves to improve and maintain their health. Recognise and respect the contribution that people make to their own care and wellbeing and make arrangements to meet people’s language and communication …show more content…
Effective communication is a vital part of a mental health nurses job. They must be able to communicate what they are saying to their patients clearly without the use of jargon in a way in which the patient will understand and not as if they were talking to a colleague, as professionals will have a different way of understanding something to the way a patient will. If this is not done correctly and a mental health patient has no understanding of what is going on this could cause an illness to escalate when the patient becomes frustrated by their lack of understanding and not knowing what is going on. Also in situations where something is not explained properly a service user could end up giving consent to something without understanding what it actually entails and understanding what it is about.(O’Carroll and Park,2007) It the job of the professional take into account the service users communication needs, whether they be someone with learning disabilities, sight or hearing problems or language difficulties and to then provide an independent interpreter or to use necessary communication aids. (NICE,2011) Mental health care also consists of different multidisciplinary teams working together, …show more content…
The way in which a nurse looks, moves and reacts can let off a lot of signals to a patient. The patient and their family can see if the nurse is being honest and how well they are listening, this should also works vice versa. When nonverbal go with what a person is saying, they increase trust, clarity, and rapport. When they don’t, they generate tension, mistrust, and confusion (Help Guide 2015) Whilst working in mental health nursing and children’s nursing a it is likely to work with someone who has a hearing sight could more impairment, therefore body language and tone of voice becomes even more important. If the a condition or impairments one that develops suddenly this is where a nurse would need to re-evaluate the way in which she would communicate with the individual. A person’s ability to communicate can also be affected by the way in which others react towards their physical , mental illness or disability.(NHS choices, 2015) The way in which a nurse listens to a patient and their family members is also as equally important as the way im which they talk to them. Within any field of nursing, intimate and very private issues are often discussed. These may include an individuals, hopes, fears, concerns, sexuality and issues
The clinical setting can be terrifying for a nursing student. Nursing students are not only concerned about properly caring for patients, but they have just as much concern regarding the techniques of how to properly address patients and their families in a manner which conveys the care and concern they wish to possess when they become registered nurses. Certainly, heightened levels of anxiety may inhibit a student nurse’s ability to make sound judgment calls with regard to appropriate nursing interventions (Foley, 2016).
“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 relationship between the person seeking help and the nurse/counsellor should be appropriate for producing therapeutic change, to ensure that the patient maximizes from the therapeutic relationship. The health care provider should ensure that they communicate effectively to the patient/client. The skills explained in the above essay are the relevant skills that nurses in the contemporary hospital environment should adhere to and respect.
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).
Upon the first point of contact between a nurse and patient, the way a nurse communicates through words, gestures or facial expressions can affect the patient's perception of the nurse. Communicating professionally helps to portray the nurse in a good light. This is important as having a positive perception of the nurse's image and behaviour is crucial to building patient trust — one of the key elements of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship (Bell & Duffy, 2009; Wadell & Skarsater, 2007). The need for the establishment of therapeutic relationship is supported by th...
Mental health nurses are skilled at using therapeutic communication techniques. They use different forms of communication with patients to help them either heal or cope with their mental state. Giving recognition, being available and accepting, offering encouragement, verbalising observations, restating what the patient has said, seeking clarification, putting feelings of the patient into words, and many other therapeutic techniques are used when communicating with a patient.
Nurses today need to have excellent communication skills. Receiving information from patients is the most important aspect of nursing. If nurses are unable to communicate with their patient then they would not be able to have a relationship with them. Communication is where two or more people interact with each other, by using sounds and words, this is verbal communication. Some individuals have different behaviors where they try to express themselves to others without using spoken words, this is non verbal communication. Once nurses have the proper communication tools, techniques and evidence based practice, when communicating with their patient, they would get the necessary information needed from the patient to properly diagnosis them.
As a nurse, it is important to address the needs of a patient during care. These needs are unique to each individual and personalizing it, enable the patients to feel truly cared about. It is important to be educated about these needs as the patients and their families look to you as a guide; therefore, education on things w...
According to Boykin “Caring is the foundation of nursing” (Boykin et al, 2011), and it is the nurses’ responsibility to understand what it means to be caring toward patients, which can be achieved through having professional communication skills. Not only does not being able to communicate affect the patient, but also it affects how the nurse is able to do his or her job to the best they can. Smith and Pressman say that the Institute of Medicine has released reports, which stress, “good communication is critical to ensuring safe and reliable nursing” (Smith & Pressman, 2010). Bad communication skills have the potential to be more dangerous to the patient and can in tern make a life-threateni...
As stated in a Communication in Nursing Practice article: “Barriers to effective listening include making assumptions before one hears the communication; non-interest in the topic or issue, history of problems with the sender; and feeling as if the sender is dictating to the receiver.”
In nursing practice, communication is essential, and good communication skills are paramount in the development of a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of communication in nursing, demonstrating how effective communication facilitates a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This will be achieved by providing a definition of communication, making reference to models of communication and explaining how different types of communication skills can be used in practise.
Communication in the nursing practice and in healthcare is important because when talking with patients, their families, and staff, the nurse and the nursing student needs to be able to efficiently express the information that they want the other person to understand. “Verbal communication is a primary way of transmitting vital information concerning patient issues in hospital settings” (Raica, 2009, para. 1). When proper communication skills are lacking in nursing practice, the chances of errors and risks to the patient’s safety increases. One crucial aspect of communication that affects the patient care outcome is how the nurse and the nursing student interacts and communicates with the physicians and other staff members. If the nurse is not clear and concise when relaying patient information to other members of the healthcare team the patient care may be below the expected quality.
Literature Critique This literature critique reviews Catherine McCabe’s article, Nurse-patient communication: an exploration of patients’ experiences (McCabe, 2002). She has obtained many degrees related to health care (Registered General Nurse, Bachelor of Nursing Science, Registered Nurse Teacher, and Master Level Nursing). She has many years of experience and is currently teaching at Trinity Center for Health Sciences. As stated in the title, this study will review the patient’s interactions with nurses in relation to their communication. This study used a qualitative approach, as stated within the article, by viewing the life experiences of the participants.
Interpersonal communication within the field of nursing is imperative in all areas to deliver a holistic positive outcome in patient care. Specifically, active listening, questioning with intent and reflective feedback ascertain an understanding of a patient’s health, illness, and healthcare. Active listening allows the patient to convey their concerns and presents the nurse with an understanding of the patient when implementing a personalised care plan. Questioning with intent builds an appreciation of the situation, and reflective feedback promotes improvements to enrich work ethics of the nursing cohort. Listening actively involves many different styles whereby information is gathered through verbal and non-verbal communication. Questioning
The term ‘Therapeutic communication’ identifies the way in which a nurse and patient interact, with the main focus being on advancing the emotional well-being of a patient; (Sherko E., et al, 2013) nurses will use this to deliver support and information to Edna. Effective communication skills are essential within nursing and are often seen as one of the main skills necessary for nurses to support patients and their families (Bramhall E, 2014). There are many forms of therapeutic communication that can be used in