Care workers will also have to be assertive, and careful not to let the conversation drift off on to another topic. It is important that care workers are able to keep the service user focussed on the issue that needs addressing, so that any problems that have arisen can be resolved. If a service user does move on to a different topic the care worker should try not to interrupt them, but wait for a pause and then bring the conversation back in the right direction. In addition to addressing certain issues, being able to effectively communicate verbally with a service user is important for the exchange of ideas and obtaining their personal views.
Conversations are a two way process; one person encodes and sends a message, and the other person receives and decodes the message (and the exact way in which the message is interpreted may vary between different individuals), and the process is repeated until the conversation ends. According to Fisher (2006) the process of verbal communication can be observed as going through a series of stages in a cycle, with:
- The first stage – being the expression of thoughts
- The second stage – as observing the other person’s body language
- The fourth stage – is listening to the other person’s verbal response
- The fifth stage – is decoding and properly understanding that response
- The sixth stage – discussing new ideas
Verbal communication is important in care settings for obtaining information from service users such as their state of health, preferences, views and opinions, so that they can be actively involved in their care. It is therefore important to make sure that any information which has been obtained is accurate, by making sure that the service user has fully understood what has been said in the conversation. For example, any terminology which could be confusing needs to be explained.
Example
A nurse asks a service user ‘have you voided today’? The service user may not even know what this means and so just answer ‘no’. When asked again later he gives the same answer, and so the nurse comes back in to the room a little while later and says she is there to fit a catheter because he has been unable to go to the toilet properly. The service user gets annoyed and yells ‘I can go to the toilet just fine; you could have just asked me that’!
In this example when the nurse was asking whether the service user had voided, she meant had he been to the toilet, but because this was not explained to the service user it led to a misunderstanding and the service user could have received the wrong care. The nurse should have clarified what she meant and should also have paid closer attention to the service user’s response and considered whether he sounded unsure, or if his facial expression showed he looked confused.
Care workers have to remember that although they may understand such terminology, they should not assume that those they care for will be able to do so. In order to communicate effectively care workers need to be able to articulate their thoughts so that they can decide how to say what they need to in a way which the service user will find easy to understand. By giving information in an easy to understand way, service users will be able to give the appropriate responses and the care worker can then obtain the correct information needed.
Using appropriate verbal communication is also important when giving, or receiving, instructions. For example, in a primary school a teacher may have to give instructions to pupils on how to take a test; instructions should be clear and easy to understand. Short sentences are often best when giving instructions, for example a teacher might say to pupils before a test ‘no talking, or looking over at others’ work’, and then perhaps follow this with an explanation: ‘so we know that no one is cheating’. Another example of when a care worker may have to give instructions is if a nursery is having an outing to the park, and the carer needs to let the children know what is expected of them; the children may be given instructions such as ‘hold hands with a buddy, and stay on the path with everyone else’, and again could be followed by an explanation of why they have to follow the instruction: ‘so that you don’t get lost’.
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