Summary: Skilled Communication In Health Care

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Health professionals use skilled communication as a vital part of their daily practice. There are many different types of communication used, each requiring a different skill set. This essay discusses two of the communication skills that were used in the video for the first part of this assignment. These skills are feedback and appropriate communication and language for context. Lastly, the essay critiques how well the communication skills discussed within this essay were demonstrated in the video.
Feedback is a communicative strategy which involves one party returning certain information to the other party, in order to inform and create a change. The feedback given in the video is the returning of results from a recent blood test. The results …show more content…

Health care professionals use very specific medical language between themselves but must remember that most patients cannot translate this. When the patient fails to understand then the communication is considered unsuccessful. (Stein-Parbury, 2013). Stein-Parbury (2013) states that, by repeating important parts of the message being conveyed, communication in the health care setting is clarified. Noting posture, facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and a patient’s need personal space are considered to be important sub-skills in achieving effective communication techniques (Stein-Parbury, …show more content…

The feedback session was judged to be successful, because the nurse did not talk for the entire five minutes about coeliac disease. Rather, I allowed let the patient to bring up her concerns about the results she was receiving and what it would mean for and her family. I also believe that appropriate communication and language was used well within this video. As the nurse, I picked up some non-verbal communication that the patient was sending. This was indicated through her facial expressions and that she was fearful about her prognosis. According, I addressed her concerns and put them to rest. It was evident that appropriate language was used, as the patient did not seemed too frightened about what the nurse was saying and she understood what was being said to her. Challenges faced during the filming of this video included concern that I would speak too much in an effort to ‘educate’ her and that the patient would not be able to ask any questions about their condition. It worked out well, as the patient was able to wait for a pause and then she was able to ask a question. I was concerned that I was rushing a bit to share all the information and might have sounded hurried. If I was to do this subject and hence this assignment again, I would ask the patient to set me more challenges, eg being hearing impaired or poorly educated.

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