Visual Communication
Visual communication is used mostly for people who have hearing difficulties or impairment or who cannot speak. Sign language is a common way of communication visually. Visual communication is important that when used, eye contact is not broken or anything can interrupt the communication. Visual communication can be used with a patient when the patient has hearing difficulties and cannot understand what you are communicating to them by speech. Communicating with a colleague that has hearing difficulties would be the same way.
Arts and Crafts Communication
Working in a care home, communication through arts and crafts can be highly effective for those patients who cannot communicate by speech or visual communication. Drawing and painting can help staff know how the patient is feeling if the painting or drawing is positive or negative. If you have a patient that does not communicate with anyone, arts and crafts can help them communicate in a different way and help you understand what they need or want so you can help them.
Different Types of Interpersonal Interaction
Non-Verbal Interpersonal Interaction
A type of interaction that is highly effective in communicating is non verbal communication. This consists of facial expressions, hand gestures, posture, and proximics. Facial expressions are a big part of communication because they can let the person know how you are feeling or if you understand them. Working in a care home, you need to be able to communicate by using facial expressions and reading them. This is a good way to tell if a patient can understand you or know how they feel. Hand gestures are a common way of communicating like waving, and signalling. This can help you communicate with patients and colleagues. Posture is a great way of reading someone’s attitude or feelings. Reading someone’s posture in the care home like folding arms, slouching, or leg crossing can warn you how to deal or respond to the patient or colleague. Working in a care home, being aware of distance from a colleague or patient is important. Close distance can be perceived as aggressive and far distance can be perceived as uninterested. Proximal is important to know so care home patients and colleagues will be comfortable.
Listening and Reflecting Back Interpersonal Interaction
Listening and reflecting back interaction is a great way to increase effective listening. Colleagues will use this in the care home to make sure you understand what was just said and that you know what to do. You would exercise this method of effective listening with patients so you know they understand what you said. This can help decrease barriers in communication. This would be used when a patient needs to know what they will be doing as well as a colleague.
Verbal Interpersonal Interaction
Verbal interaction consists of statements, and questions. This helps both people who are communicating to understand one another. When working in the care home, asking patient’s questions can help you understand how they feel and you can help. Verbal communication helps the patient know that you understand them and vice versa. This can also let you know the patient understand what you are saying.
Assessment
To use effective communication, any of the above ways to communicate are only effective in the correct situation. When communicating to a large group of people, group communication is the most effective like when informing other nurses of important information. One on one communication is highly effective when communicating with one person as well as visual communication. Visual communication is highly effective one on one to stop from interference. One on one communication can be used to update a patient’s progress or to inform them of information. Visual communication would be used for patients who have hearing difficulties. Arts and crafts are a great way of entertaining and getting patients who do not often communicate, to communicate through art and crafts. Non verbal interaction should always be used when communicating because it can help the person you are communicating to understand properly what you could be referring to and decreases the risk of being misunderstood. Verbal interaction can help patients stay engaged in the conversation you are having because they will know you understand and they understand the communication. Verbal interaction would be highly effective in one on one communication. Listening and reflecting back can help a patient asses their progress or help them understand the communication better. This interaction can be used in organized group communication or one on one communication to become effective. Without effective communication, the care home would be chaotic for nurses as well as the patients because nurses will not have an organized way of working. Nurses could give double the amount of medicine prescribed because the nurses will not know who is giving the medicine. Without effective communication in the care home, not only would it be confusing and chaotic, but could cause a life. Patients would not progress with their health without effective communication because they could not be able to reflect back to assess their progress or receive one on one support they need.
Communication Cycle
Order of Communication Cycle
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Idea Occurs- you plan to communicate a message to someone, so you get their attention. Example; How are you? Make eye contact
- Message Coded- you plan how you are going to communicate this message.
Example; verbally
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Message Sent- you either send the message through non-verbal, verbal, gesture and others. Example; Sent how are you? Through verbal communication
- Message Received- the receiver receivers the message you sent
Example; Receiver made eye contact and heard your message
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Message Decoded- the receiver decodes the message you sent to them and understands it. Example; The receiver processed that you are asking how they are
- Message Understood- the person has understood your message.
Example; Receiver understands your message and will begin the communication cycle again
(Stretch and Whitehouse 2010)
How the Communication Cycle Can Be Used in the Health and Social Care Setting
The communication cycle used in a health and social care setting is beneficial to explain and understand how people communicate with one another. If a step of the communication cycle is not used or not received, this cycle will not be effective to its role of communication. To prevent the cycle from not being effective, health and social care workers have to send the message clear, concise, and simply to prevent the message from being confusing. To ensure effective communication by using the communication cycle, not only does the message need to be clear, concise and simple, but body language should also be used to ensure effective communication. Body language can help determine the message is received and understood by the patient or carer. Example; A nurse is giving a patient medicine in pill form. The nurse sends the message “Have you swallowed the medicine?” to the patient. The patient nods which allows the nurse to know the message has been received and understood. Although it is a non-verbal message, giving feedback to the nurse, non-verbal communication is still as effective with the communication cycle even though two forms of communication are used.
A social worker will use the communication cycle everyday throughout their career because it produces successful communication. Social workers need to have excellent communication skills to help service users. They may need to visit service users at their home to assist them in their everyday lives. Social workers need to ensure service users have a good understanding in the messages they receive to help progress and get the support they need from the social worker.
The communication cycle is also used by councillors. Councillors need to be able to approach a sensitive subject and give support to service users in a productive way. The communication cycle enables them to do so by gaining trust of the service user and building a good relationship through successful communication. The councillor makes sure the message they send is clear and understanding to the service user. The service user then receives, and understands the message and sends a message back to the councillor that they understand. Councillors will also use the listening and reflecting back interpersonal interaction to make sure the communication cycle was effective and the message stays clear to the service user.
A nurse is also uses the communication cycle frequently to have effective communication with patients. They would need to have good communication skills to send clear messages to patients who could be hurt, and may not be fully conscious to understand the message. Using the communication cycle in the nursing profession is vital to knowing which medication is needed, how a patient needs to be treated, or know how the patient was hurt and if authorities need to contacted. The communication cycle is essential to nurses in their day to day career.
Conclusion
In this report I have researches, analyzed, and assessed different forms of communication as well as ways of using it to create successful and effective communication in the health and social care settings. I have also assessed how the communication cycle can be used in the health and social care setting. The conclusion of this analysis is that the communication cycle is vital to being used in the health and social care setting to create trust, support, and treat service users. The communication cycle is available to every type of service user to help them in an effective way by using different communication and interactions. “Communication- the human connection- is the key to personal and career success.”-Paul J. Meyer (Finest Quotes 2009)
Bibliography
- Stretch. B, Whitehouse. M (2010) Health and Social Care Book 1, Harlow, Heinemann, Page 9
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Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2010) Merriam-Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/communication Accessed on 03/11/10@ 13:04
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Finest Quotes (2009) Paul J. Meyer, http://www.finestquotes.com/pauljmayerquotes Accessed on 04/11/10@ 15:47