The Importance Of Communication

Communication skills are essential to operate in this day and age. The mode of communication has vastly changed in my life time. As a child I remember there being a land line (telephone) with a feature titled call waiting (indicated by a beep when you received a call while speaking on the phone with someone else) and an answering machine. Those items are now considered artifacts. The rise of technology gave birth to new ways to communicate. Letter writing and speaking on land lines are truly a thing of the past. The rise of the cellular phone and the availability of computer technology have vastly changed the realm of communication. The new normal is, people text from their cellular phone or email from their computer, tablet or electronic devices.

Most people hear my job title and automatically assume that I do not do work. It is quite the contrary. I am charged with waiting on an individual hand and foot, ensuring their safely, privacy and happiness. I know I am meeting the clients and their families on the worst day of their lives presumedly. I wipe tears, wipe behinds, pray prayers and purchase the M and M chocolate chip cookies in the cafeteria all in the name of keeping my patient happy. Unfortunately, I do not make everybody happy. On rare occasions I come across an individual who I cannot make

My shift started just like any other normal shift. I received my room assignment and then I reported to the specified room. My client was an older, white, male with a thinning hair and a smiling face. We introduced ourselves and got along great. He shared with me what it was like growing up on a farm with a large family. He spoke about his siblings, children, grandchildren and even his deceased wife. He told me his daughter brought him to the hospital but he was not exactly sure why. My only instructions were to ensure that he stayed in the bed and did not injure himself trying to walk. He complained of feeling sticky and I offered him a bed bath. I found a Patient Care Assistant (Nursing Assistant) to assist me. We gathered everything we need to complete the task. She was a small, Caucasian, woman from Wakulla. She and I were providing care for the client when things suddenly went awry. I had just assisted in bathing and changing the client and was applying some lotion on the client. I asked the client if he wanted to brush his teeth now or wait until the morning. I accidentally referred to the client as a Mr. and inserted his first name (because I could not recall his last name at the time). He was instantly enraged. He asked, “How can a “N—word” call him by his first name. “He instructed me to get my “Black (curse word)” out of his room. I was puzzled. He informed me that I had no right to call a good, white, man