ESSAY: 2 Patient Communication

Assessment 2

Patient Communication

Prepare a 3 page report on nurse-patient communication in which you address types of communication, factors that influence the communication experience, and how the patient experience affects health outcomes. Recommend evidence-based strategies to improve nurse-patient communication and explain how the strategies consider patient demographics.

Nursing professionals do not only communicate with others within their organizations—often, they are also the first point of contact with patients.  Thus, nursing professionals need superior communication skills to explain procedures and medication instructions, as well as to listen to what patients need to say.

How well do you communicate with other professionals with whom you work?

How well do you listen when other professionals speak to you?

Clark and Paraska (2014) suggest that understanding how people communicate is the first step in learning how to teach patients more effective methods of listening, self-awareness, and self-expression—and also in identifying barriers in communication.  The process of communication can be difficult, as we can interpret meaning based on a variety of hidden messages—some conscious and intentional—some not.

Reference

Clark, C. C., & Paraska, K. K. (2014). Health promotion for nurses: A practical guide. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Resources

Dean, E. (2012). A patient approach. Nursing Standard, 27(10), 16–18.

Eggenberger, T., Garrison, H., Hilton, N., & Giovengo, K. (2013). Discharge phone calls: Using person-centred communication to improve outcomes. Journal of Nursing Management, 21(5), 733–739.

Easton, P., Entwistle, V. A., & Williams, B. (2013). How the stigma of low literacy can impair patient-professional spoken interactions and affect health: Insights from a qualitative investigation. BMC Health Services Research, 13(1), 1–12.

Nørgaard, B., Kofoed, P., Ohm Kyvik, K., & Ammentorp, J. (2012). Communication skills training for health care professionals improves the adult orthopaedic patient’s experience of quality of care. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 26(4), 698–704.

Warnock, C. (2014). Breaking bad news: Issues relating to nursing practice. Nursing Standard, 28(45), 51–58.

Manias, E. (2010). Medication communication: A concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(4), 933–943.

Online Resources…videos

Nursing Professional Communication – Hostile Client https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C8qSfEJ3Gc

Nurse and the Angry Patient  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4qCP_NEYYU

Nurse Patient Relationship/Communication https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnBbE1RoBSU

Proper Patient Care – Communication Techniques https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9U-r9D6oVw

Say This, Not That: Patient Experience Video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r842Ylpa-nQ

Instructions

Imagine that, in an effort to reduce the number of patient complaints about nursing staff, organizational leadership has asked your department to prepare some preliminary research on a number of different topics.  Your topic is patient communication, such as the following:

The types of communication that take place between nurses and patients.

The factors that can influence both positive and negative experiences.

How the experience can impact health care outcomes.

Strategies that can improve the communication between nurses and patients.

Preparation

You will need at least 3 resources to support your work in this assessment.

Directions

Prepare a report on patient-nurse communication in which you include the following:

Describe the types of communication that take place between nurses and clients/patients.

Do not forget to consider types of communication beyond verbal and written on paper.

Explain the factors that influence positive and negative experiences during the communication process.  (Hint: Consider the experiences of both the client/patient and the nurse.  Also, consider things such as age, gender, culture, and so on, of both the client/patient and the nurse.)

Explain how the client/patient experience can impact health care outcomes.

Recommend evidence-based strategies for improving communication between client/patients and nurses.

Explain how the strategies consider different client/patient demographics.

Format this assessment as a report that you would give to your supervisor.  It may be helpful for you to review how your organization formats internal reports and incorporate your findings.  You are still required to adhere to APA guidelines for in-text citations and references, as well as for formatting your reference page.

Additional Requirements

Include a title page and a reference page.

Ensure your assessment is 3–4 pages in length.

Use double-spaced, 12-pt., Times New Roman font.

Grading Guide

1.  Describes the types of communication that occur between nurses and clients/patients, including verbal and nonverbal, paper, and forms of e-communication.

2.  Explains the factors that influence the communication experience between nurses and clients/patients for both nurses and clients/patients and considers a broad range of factors, including age, gender, and culture.

3.  Explains how the client/patient communication experience can impact health care outcomes and illustrates with real-world examples.

4.  Recommends evidence-based strategies to improve nurse-client/patient communication and suggests benchmarks to determine if the strategies are effective.

5.  Explains how nurse-client/patient communication strategies consider individual demographics connecting the strategies to a broad range of demographics including spirituality, sexual orientation, culture, gender, age, et cetera.

6.  Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.

7.  Correctly formats citations and references with no errors.

ANSWER

Patient Communication

Communication is an important tool used in the corporate world to transact and effect various professional duties. In nursing, communication is used to facilitate and coordinate various medical processes in the hospital setting (Haugan, 2014). The quality of medical services is often equated to the quality of communication involved. If communication is not good enough, certainly there will be flaws in the rest of the care delivery process. This paper focuses on analyzing the types of communication a patient is involved in and other factors surrounding and affecting the quality of such communications.

Types of Communication

The various forms of communication in the healthcare setting involve verbal/nonverbal, formal/informal, and technology-aided communication.

Verbal versus Non-Verbal

Before a nurse performs any medical procedure, they must employ verbal communication to enquire about the patient’s complains and updated them on the way forward. Patients can use the verbal communication to express their views and concerns. Non-verbal communication, on the other hand, involves gestures and facial expressions. Maintaining eye-contact and leaning in when interacting with a patient are some of the non-verbal ways of communication.

Formal versus Informal

Hospital policies require nurses to use formal communication when dealing with patients. Caregivers are required to write down the actions taken as well as the procedures carried out.

Though important, this type of communication tends to leave little room for divergent views or feedback. On the other hand, informal communication is less structured and hence allows more casual interaction between patients and nurses. Conversing with patients about their families, daily activities, and interests occur using informal communication.

Technology-Aided Some patients are not in a position to communicate on their own. In such instances, technology-aided communication gadgets come in handy. For instance, deaf and dumb patients may type their concerns or feedback into a computer. Other forms of technology-based communication include the use of electronic mails…