A health care worker has to know when to communicate formally and informally. Formal communication is usually the correct way of speaking which avoids slang or jargon (Collins education). When carrying out a formal conversation it usually begins with a greeting like “How are you feeling?” This occurs when a professional speaks to someone who is using the service. It is important that a health care worker uses formal language as it shows respect and because they are representing their work place, even when speaking to another member of staff. There is a time and place for socialising.
Informal communication doesn’t stick to the formal rules of communication (Collins education). When using informal it’s more relaxed and personal then formal language as it’s often used between people who know each other well, such as family and friends. Sometimes informal communication does occur in the work place as work colleagues develop close, personal relationships.
Throughout the health care, care workers will use different forms of communication during their shift. They will often carry out communication by using verbal or non-verbal skills. These will include the verbal communication skills of talking and listening along with the non-verbal skills such as touch, eye contact, facial expressions and body language. (Collins education) It is important for the care worker to put into practice these skills when they give or receive information about a patient, provide emotional support or when carrying out an assessment of an individual.
Verbal communication is word based, so occurs when one person speaks and another listens. (Collins Education) This also involves active listening. Care workers need to be able to use this range of verbal skills in order to respond to questions, find out problems or needs, contribute to team meetings, and provide support, which means the care worker has to show empathy and to deal with problems. Having good verbal communication is the ability to both explain and listen to other people. No matter who the audience is, verbal communication will be used in most situations, the only thing that will be different depending on the type of patient would be the style of approach. For example if a nurse was dealing with a young child, her tone would be a lot softer and gentler then if she was talking to a middle aged patient. When talking about what is wrong with a young child, the nurse would avoid using long technical words and keep the conversation as short as possible as the child might not understand and could lose concentration. But when speaking to the middle aged patient, the nurse would use long technical words and have more of an in-depth conversation.
As well as using verbal communication, people also use forms of non verbal communication. Non verbal communication is a form of communication that does not use words (Collins education). This could be through body language, facial expressions, gestures and visual aids such as pictures or symbols. It is important for a health care worker to use the correct body language and appearance to communicate with patients in order to make a good impression. Making a good impression to the patient is vital as it makes them feel comfortable and at ease. Not only is it important to use the correct body language but it is also important that they can recognise body language. A patient’s body language may tell a health care worker that they are uncomfortable or experiencing pain even if they say, “I’m okay” (Collins education). Sometimes when speaking to younger patients such as toddlers it’s often hard to diagnose the problem as the child does not speak or doesn’t understand. If this is the case the nurse can use techniques such as getting the child to point to where the pain is or using a range of different smiley faces that the child can point to, which indicates how bad the pain is.
In the health care industry one to one communication happens when a patient with health concerns meets with a professional. One to one communication is when one person speaks with another individual (Collins education: Developing effective communication). An example of this would be a doctor-patient appointment. One to one communication doesn’t just happen between patients and their doctors but lots occur when professionals to talk to one another, partners and family of the patient. Communicating in a one to one situation is more effective when both people are relaxed so they are able to take it in turns to speak, without having to talk over one another as well as being able to listen. To have an effective one to one conversation it requires listening skills from both people involved, information-giving skills so information is passed on clearly and questioning skills (Collins education).
As well as one to one communication, there is also group communication. Group communication is a lot harder to get right and only works if everyone is able to get involved. Mostly there are people who speak a lot and others who speak rarely (pearsons school). This could be because they feel uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups of people or they don’t have anything to contribute. “Group communication fails if everyone speaks at the same time” (Stretch B Whitehouse, M. 2010, page 5). For group communication to work at its best and for everyone to have their turn it is best if there is a group leader who is encouraging. So it is important that the group leader has control over the group. During a group meeting it is important to use positive body language which means sitting upright in the chair without slouching as well as using eye contact. It is important and respectful to look towards the individual speaking. In health care there are a lot of team meetings going on within the wards so it is crucial that the professionals carry out these things especially when their boss or manger is around. Not only do group conversations happen in team meetings but they also taken place around a patients bed. If group communication is carried out well then the patient will be more relaxed and feel more comfortable meaning they will be more cooperative.
When giving feedback it is a good idea to follow something called the feedback sandwich. The feedback sandwich is a way of giving constructive criticism, it is structured in three ways. Firstly there is a positive comment made, this could be about what they did and how they did it well. Secondly the feedback is given, this is advice on how they can improve what they are doing wrong. Then to finish there would be another positive comment made. An example of this would be “Hey Susan, your interacting with the patients really well but one thing I would appreciate that you could improve is to do the patients checkups slightly quicker instead of standing around talking. By the way the patients love you, you’re doing a really good job!”
References:
Beryl Stretch (2007) Health and Social Care, Oxford, Moonie Et Al
5.10.12, (http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/FEAndVocational/HealthAndSocialCare/BTEC/BTECLevel2FirstHealthandSocialCare/Samples/StudentBook/BTECLevel2FirstHealthandSocialCareStudentBookSampleMaterial-Unit1CommunicationinHealthandSocialCare.pdf), www page
5.10.12, (http://www.collinseducation.com/resources/btechscunit1.pdf), www page
5.10.12, (http://www.collinseducation.com/resources/hscbtecnationalch01.pdf), www page
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samanthajanee (student)
