Reflective Account on Communication Essay example

Whilst on shift one day I needed to ask my key resident Mr H what clothes he wanted to wear for that day. Mr H is very hard of hearing but refuses to wear a hearing aid as he states they make his ears sore. Mr H has no speech difficulties.

This made me nervous as to how I was going to communicate with her. My mentor stood back in order to allow me to administer the medications and I felt unable to ask the question, “How do I communicate with this patient?”

Communication is very important in order to express needs and emotions. There are two types of communication, verbal and non-verbal, both of which are important in understanding and supporting someone.

Clinical day started slow, I was a bit anxious about waking my patient up that morning but I knew I had to go in. I woke him slowly and took his vitals and proceeded with my assessment. As I assessed my patient, his wife came in to his room and I introduced myself. During the morning I found out that my patient was being discharged. Before discharge, my patient was going to be fitted for a LifeVest.

English class has never been my strong suite. I always had to work twice as hard in English then I did in any other class. Writing paper always had me stressed and overwhelmed, I felt discouraged in my work. l never seemed to be able to get to the level I wanted to. I would try my hardest and paid attention in class, but when it came to writing the paper none of that seemed to help. I think that my experience in English Composition 1 has helped gain and grow in some areas, but I don’t think that it highlights a well-written college essay. Some elements that I worked to improving was introduction paragraphs, tone, style, and thesis statements.

Another non-verbal communication skill that I learned to use effectively was silence as it gave both the patient and the nurse time to reflect upon previous or future events in the patient’s care, although it is important to ensure that the patient’s needs are still met and that the focus is still on them. Therefore it is important that the nurse involves the patient through other means of communication.

Vital observations were carried out efficiently, they were recorded every 15 minutes and a cardiac monitor was attached to continuously monitor for any deterioration. As a student nurse I assisted by recording vital observations using NEWS and assessing consciousness by using the Glasgow coma scale to ensure there were no signs of brain trauma (Le Roux, Levine and Kofke, 2013). In line with the NMC, my mentor supervised and countersigned my observations (NMC, 2011b). I promoted good patient safety as deterioration would be recognised early and appropriate care provided. Throughout the treatment process I witnessed and provided person centred care. Nursing and medical staff continuously checked patient comfort and obtained consent for treatment being provided.

A person communicate different variety of ways, both verbally and non-verbally. Primates and other animals have been communicating without the use of language since long before humans invented verbal communication. Some scientists believe that even today, most communication between humans is non-verbal. Both types of communication differ significantly between genders and across cultures.

Therapeutic communication is the basis to maintain a proper nurse patient relationship. Furthermore, understanding that therapeutic communication which is so vital, patient’s literacy level is also crucial in the communication process. Boykins D., 2014 states that “individuals that experience health literacy problems receive less preventative care and have poor understanding of health problems and care”. A nurse assesses each patients’ literacy level upon their first interaction, she also uses therapeutic communication to build a strong nurse patient relationship. Therapeutic communication can be verbal and nonverbal, both equally important to help build a bridge for communication. An example of nonverbal therapeutic communication would be silence; in some cultures, silence is a norm and a way of thinking. With a precise assessment and proper

This patient arrived on time for her scheduled appointment with this writer. This writer introduces herself as the patient assigned counselor, at which the patient was pleased to be assigned to a counselor. This writer discussed with the patient UDS and the patient's prescribed medication. According to the patient, she provided information of her current medical concerns such as the seven blockage with her heart, her chronic back pain- the patient reports that she needs to replace 2 or 3 discs, and her foot surgery. The surgery for the patient's heart and foot are pending at this time. The patient reports she is scheduled to conduct a sleep apena on 03/03/2016 and is aware that she must provide an update to Nursing at the clinic. The patient praised about having a excellent Cardiologist, who is currently monitoring her heart. the patient was emotional discussing the many loss of her family who suffers from congestive heart failure. The patient reports, " I believe there is a GOD and he is

My Story: Today, was an awesome, extremely busy clinical day; I absolutely loved it. I saw five total patients. The first patient that I saw was with Laura, this patient was diagnosed yesterday, 2/7, with cirrhosis of the liver and HEP C. The patient’s chart says he has a history of anxiety, however, the patient stated that his anxiety started when he was told in the ER on 1/25 that he could have cirrhosis of the liver (more information in part D and E). This patient was very interesting, and I was amazing by how much he was going through; I felt bad for him. I did vital signs and my part D and E with this patient, and built a therapeutic relationship with this individual. I completed my part D and E on my first patient, due to not knowing if other patients were going to cancel because of the snow, as well as I didn’t know what patients I could see because the NP, Tanya wasn’t in the office in the morning. At the end of the visit, the patient asked me if I would be coming back again. This made me feel good, because I knew listening and being there as support for this patient helped him. The rest of the day I followed the

B- For the check off we were advised that, if we are the patient we should not say anything or in other word we should help our partner. So its kind a challenge, if you are the one who’s going to be transfer to bed to wheelchair or wheelchair to bed and you knew your partner is lacking on a step and you can’t help her.

Non-verbal communication is defined as the aspect of communication that information is exchanged through non-verbal cues. The nurse had showed minimal respect towards Peter and had spoken at a poor tone of voice. The use of facial expressions when interacting with patients is important as it expresses respect, empathy and attention (Mast, MS. 2007). Para-verbal communication refers to messages that are said through tone, pitch, and pace; along with verbal communication, this had assisted in my approach to Peter. In many situations when interacting with patients, it is how the speech is said and not what is said as a sentence can express different meanings depending on the emphasis on the words and tone of voice (Brindley, P. G

I called the patient's guardian ( Margaret) and left message, asking to return call to discuss the patient's condition and plan- awaiting call back.

In this assignment, I am going to review four cases, which will require a number of different communication skills focusing primarily on; developing a therapeutic relationship, communicating assertively, communicating effectively with an individual with a disability/impairment and communicating with individuals from another culture. I will discuss building a therapeutic relationship and effective communication with each patient.