The Importance Of Professional Communication

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Overview Among the several themes highlighted by the video clip, communication is the chosen theme for the purpose of this essay. With communication being a broad topic, the essay will only be focused on professional communication, provision of information and handover — the main aspects featured in the video clip. In this essay, the interactions of the nurse, doctor and patient in the video clip will be discussed from a communication perspective. Supported by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) standard and scholarly articles, the essay will also highlight how communication can affect the quality of patient care, health outcomes and the ability to meet individual patients' needs. Professional Communication Communication encompasses a wide range of processes such as the exchange of information, listening, posing of questions (Fleischer et al., 2009) or use of body language. In a healthcare environment where there are constant interactions among nurses, doctors, patients and other health professionals, professional and effective communication is important in ensuring high quality healthcare standards and meeting the individual needs of patients. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...an be seen that effective communication during handover is essential to providing reliable care (Smith & Pressman, 2010) tailored to a patient's individual needs. As healthcare professionals who can make a difference in life and death for patients, it is therefore crucial to promote active dialogue and exchange of relevant information. Conclusion Not only is professional communication important in the portrayal of a good nursing image and behaviour, it also plays a vital role in patient care and health outcomes. The ANMC standards serve as a good guidance on the need to establish therapeutic relationship through effective communication. As nurses spend relatively more time with patients, they play a significant role in bridging a patient and doctor. Hence, it is would help for nurses to constantly hone their communication skills through experience over time.

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