The Nurses Role in Relation to Communicating Effectively in Practice

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        The Nurses Role in Relation to Communicating Effectively in Practice        

654307 | M12

Mark Edwards

(word count)

6th June 2012 | SHN 122

Introduction

The aim of this essay is to consider how the nurse’s role is effective in relation to communicating in practice. I will investigate the definition of communication and its theories as well as the facilitators and barriers to effective communication, using journals and texts to support the validity of these theories.

Included within this assignment will be an example from clinical practice describing a specific event and the types of communication relating to the interaction. In order to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) Code of Professional Conduct, all names and locations have been changed. The NMC (2011) state that information about a client should be treated as confidential and only used for the purpose for which it was given. For the purposes of this scenario, the patient will be named as Betty.

As a result of this essay, knowledge should be gained regarding the establishment and maintenance of valuable interpersonal skills. An accomplished insight into the facilitators and barriers to effective communication should be achieved, in turn benefiting myself for future interactions in practice, and ultimately, ensuring improved holistic care for patients.

Communication is a difficult concept to define, described by Anderson (1959) as a multifaceted phenomenon, involving various means of verbal and non-verbal communication. These interacting factors can be physical, psychological or social; each situation requiring self-awareness and self actualisation by the nurse in order to effectively communicate with the patient (Sully and Dallas, 2010). Interpersonal skills are imperative when dealing with person centred care and creating therapeutic relationships between nurses and patients (Marquis and Huston 2009). Communication has been described by Miller and Nicholson (1976) as an interpersonal activity involving the transmission of messages from a source to a receiver for the purpose of influencing the receiver’s behaviour. This is seen as a linear theory. However, opposing this is a circulatory theory (Asbridge et al 2008) which expands the linear model, to include the context of the communication feedback loops and validation, meaning the sender and receiver will make up a mental picture of one another, influencing the message and perceptions, and the potential reactions to the message. Feedback in communication is the only way to know that our perceptions are valid. There are many influencing factors on how a person receives communication such as age, culture, education, emotions and language.

The clinical scenario featured is based on a female who suffers with dementia. Betty was unable to feed herself at meal times due to a stroke resulting in weakness of her arm, meaning she needed to be fed at the bedside. She had suffered with diarrhoea and subsequently was placed in a private cubicle, therefore isolating her from the rest of the ward. Additionally, it was known that she had dementia and vision impairment, meaning both verbal and non-verbal types of communication would be difficult.

Non Verbal Communication

Upon entering the cubicle it was clear that Betty was sleeping, as not to shock her I gently touched her hand, greeted her and informed her that dinner was ready. Touch can be very therapeutic and powerful in a professional relationship, as the most primitive form of human communication (Turner and West 2011). Touch can communicate caring, understanding, reassurance and warmth, when used correctly. White (2005) states that the majority of clients accept forms of touch as integral to nursing when shown professionally. Alternatively, touch can be recognised as invasive by a patient, impinging on their personal space. This is a potential barrier as a patient could feel violated, depending on the situation. An individual’s personal space is their boundary which provides comfort and security, usually defined by culture and past experiences (Samovar et al 1984). When dealing with a sensitive patient such as Betty, who could be confused, Daniels (2004) state to use touch with caution.

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At this point there were no distractions in the environment as Betty was in a cubicle; the television was on, however she had no known hearing impairments so I did not turn it off as she may have found it relaxing. Shutting the door as to minimize noise from the ward, this also would help to maintain confidentiality in case Betty felt she wanted to disclose any information to me.

Verbal and nonverbal communication need to be used in conjunction with each other. Hargie (1988) argues that words play only a minor part in conveying a message, and non-verbal ...

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