Health Care and Communication

888 Words2 Pages

It is important that peers communicate effectively with one another in the health care environment. Parvis (2001) discusses the importance of effective communication practices that promote peer-to-peer collaboration among colleagues, and advocates open sharing of thoughts, ideas. The willingness to actively participate in events that encourage open discussions is equally important. The definition of public speaking (as cited in the American Heritage College Dictionary) is “the expression of oneself..,” or “the state of being connected, one with another.” Public speech should be detailed, organized, anticipated, and spoken loudly for the receiver to get the point. More importantly, both group and mass communication falls in the category of verbal and nonverbal. Twenty five percent or one-fourth of the communicated message is verbal, and the rest (75 percent) is nonverbal. This includes factors of communication such as facial expression, postures, gestures, and voice tone.

Sinickas (2007) suggests that to address communication breakdowns effectively, we must understand that communication is both top-down and horizontal through an organization. Cross-departmental communication should be the responsibility of operational management to help ensure information is channeled effectively and efficiently to all involved parties. Effective communication can be both costly, and save an organization hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in revenue yearly. The best approach is to first identify communication barriers interdepartmentally, and take an operational management style approach to help improve those bottlenecks in the delivery of the communication from across all departments.

Piotrowski (2005) asserts that the esse...

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... and cost-effective manner.

References

Briles, J. Piotrowski, B. M. (2005). Tips on Improving Your Communication Skills. Biomedical Instrumentation &Technology, 39(1), 51-2. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. (Document ID: 842559581).

Marshall, P & Robson, R. (2005). Preventing and Managing Conflict: Vital Pieces in the Patient Safety Puzzle. Retrieved February 5, 2012 from http://www.longwoods.com/content/17660

Parvis, E.L. (2001). The importance of communication and public-speaking skills. Journal of Environmental Health, 63(9), 44,35. Retrieved February 1, 2012, from Research Library. (Document ID: 72462163).

Sinickas, A. (2007). Breaking Down Departmental Barriers: Strategic Communication Management, 12(1), 11. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1410786161).

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