Heath Care Communication
Good communication is a critical practice in many organizations. Health care communication “entails the effective use of verbal and non-verbal strategies to influence individual decisions within a medical facility” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, p. 73). Healthcare communication is a necessary practice because it improves public and personal health outcomes. Healthcare communication “is the art and science of influencing, mentoring, influencing, and motivating nurses to improve the nature of care” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, p. 32). Health care communication ensures nurses provide the best care and support to every patient with different needs. According to Hansten and Jackson (2009, p. 28), “communication is the exchange of ideas using human behaviors, signals, and speech”. Caregivers should exchange their concepts and practices in order to improve the quality of care.
Healthcare communication improves the level of awareness in every nursing environment. The practice entails the use of various strategies, interventions, and ideas to promote health. Nurse Managers (NMs) should use the practice to demonstrate the best health practices. The success of every health organization depends on the nature of its communication strategy. Healthcare practitioners should use the best communication skills to address the health needs of their patients. Nurses and medical practitioners should embrace the best behaviors in order to improve the quality of nursing. According to Handzo (2012, p. 2), “individuals should use communication because it is a powerful tool”. The practice encourages caregivers to undertake various formative evaluations (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). The practice addresses every healthcare challenge such as misdiagnosis, wrong treatment regime, and injury. Health care communication plays a critical role towards providing the necessary medical inputs. Nurses should embrace the practice in order to save human lives.
Relevance of Effective Personal Health Care Communication
A clinician who can listen, explain, empathize, and communicate with his or her teammates will promote the quality of care. This practice will also improve the patient’s functional, emotional, and biological health outcomes. Proper interpersonal communication between a nurse and his or her patient will result in better health experiences. Teams in medical organizations should embrace the best communication skills. Every team member should embrace every communication skill in order to support the changing health needs of various patients (Handzo, 2012). Ineffective interpersonal communication will result in improper medical decisions and treatment procedures.
Personal health communication improves the level of interaction between nurses and their patients. Personal communication ensures caregivers take their patients seriously. They also analyze the problem facing the patient and offer the best emotional support. The communication approach helps physicians and practitioners understand the experiences of their patients. These caregivers should also provide the best medical solutions to their patients. Good interpersonal communication results in better decisions. Nurses should communicate effectively with their patients in order to come up with the best clinical decisions. The above skills also encourage patients to tell their stories. Physicians and healthcare practitioners will use such narrations to provide the best support to these patients (Arnold & Boggs, 2011). Effective interpersonal communication minimizes system and human errors whenever providing the required medical care.
Effective Professional Health Care Communication
Clinicians should use patient Interviews (PIs) to understand the medical history of their patients. Such interviews are critical because they improve the quality of patient support. Proper health care communication is what supports these interviews. Effective professional health care communication will always improve the nature of care. Proper health communication will always improve the nature of healthcare practice and delivery. The first important outcome is the ability to make the best diagnostic decisions. Effective professional communication in medical practice omits various interruptions (Arnold & Boggs, 2011). Every practitioner will understand the stories narrated by his or her patients. The approach will establish the best patient-nurse relationship thus resulting in better health outcomes.
The level of patient satisfaction also increases whenever practitioners use the best healthcare communication strategies (Arnold & Boggs, 2011). The practice encourages patients to narrate their medical stories. Every patient gets a chance to express his or her cultural expectations, ideas, and medical options. The caregiver will also make the best clinical decisions after getting the required information from the patient. The patients will also establish new bonds with their nurses. Professional health care communication has always encouraged Nurse Practitioners (NPs) to offer continued care to their patients.
According to Rosenberg (2011, p. 79), “effective communication in every healthcare setting will improve the level of dignity”. Such nurses will treat their patients with dignity and respect. The patients will establish new partnerships with their favorite health organizations. These practices will improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Effective interpersonal communication reduces medical errors. Proper communication in a healthcare setting will reduce stress. The approach will ensure every nursing team addresses the health needs of its patients. Proper communication in healthcare “is relevant in every attribute of well-being and human health” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, p. 62).
Lack of Effective Personal and Professional Health Care Communication
The above discussion explains why communication is a useful tool in every healthcare institution. This tool supports the best working conditions and job satisfactions. Lack of effective professional or personal health care communication will have adverse impacts on medical outcomes. Ineffective communications will lead to poor diagnosis of diseases and medical conditions. Poor communication affects the level of interaction between nurses and their patients. The practice “reduces audience awareness and knowledge” (Arnold & Boggs, 2011, p. 49). Improper professional communication results in poor decisions (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011). The patients might also be unhappy with every nursing practice. This scenario discourages more patients from visiting their favorite healthcare institutions.
Poor personal or professional communication in medical facilities will discourage caregivers from offering the best support to their patients. The misbehavior “discourages every good medical practice such as health care policy, disease management, health promotion, and public health awareness” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011, p. 85). Ineffective communication will also affect the quality of health and wellbeing within the targeted society. Poor communication will also affect the effectiveness of medical teams to provide the required care to their patients (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). These practitioners will not support every good health policy or issue.
Clinicians who lack proper communication skills will not listen or empathize with their patients. The approach will reduce the level of patient satisfaction. The malpractice “will also affect the biological and functional health needs of the patients negatively” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011, p. 49). Ineffective health care communication does not result in improved medical practices. Poor personal communication reduces the level of nursing practice or commitment. The level of patient-clinician communication also decreases thus affecting the quality of healthcare delivery. Ineffective communication in a healthcare setting will “result in practice risks and patient dissatisfactions” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2011, p. 49). Most of the caregivers will stop adhering to every proper medical practice or action. Such malpractices and misbehaviors in a given medical institution will affect the quality of care.
Theories and Principles of Therapeutic Communication in Health Care Settings
Different principles support the effectiveness of therapeutic communications in different health care settings. Peplau’s Interpersonal Relations Theory is a patient-centered approach aimed at improving nursing outcomes. The approach engages every aspect of patients’ health conditions. The theory encourages patients to share their medical experiences and feelings with their nurses. Nurses should listen to the patient’s ideas and feelings in order to address his or her holistic needs. Such needs can be mental, spiritual, physiological, environmental, or emotional. The practice will reduce the level of stress and discomfort (Rosenberg, 2011). The other principle is the ability to listen to every client’s nonverbal and verbal elements. Communications techniques should be effective in order to establish the best relationships with different patients and their families. The other core principles of therapeutic communication between clients and caregivers include “permission, immediacy, respect, protection, honesty, acceptance, and concreteness, and empathy” (Rosenberg, 2011, p. 74).
Nurses can use different theories of interpersonal communication to establish the best relationships and interactions with their patients. Individual Therapy Theory encourages nurses to establish the best relationships with their patients in order to get the targeted health outcomes (Arnold & Boggs, 2011). Nurses should use this theory whenever working with their patients. According to the theory, patients should embrace the powers of self-meditation and exploration. Milieu Therapy Theory “encourage nurses to use every facet of nursing and medical practice” (Rosenberg, 2011, p. 80). The approach will ensure every patient gets the best understanding, support, opportunity, and attention. Patients can use the theory to acquire new behaviors and practices such as self-care.
Reference List
Arnold, E., & Boggs, K. (2011). Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. New York: Saunders.
Handzo, G. (2012). Good Communication in Health Care is About Listening. Web.
Hansten, R., & Jackson, M. (2009). Clinical Delegation Skills: A Handbook for Professional Practice. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Rosenberg, S. (2011). Therapeutic Communication in the Clinical Setting. In Transit, 1(1), 72-84.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2011). Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. New York: Mosby Publishers.