Case Study On Effective Professional Communication In Nursing

Question

Task: Discuss why effective nurse patient communication is critical to promote therapeututic nurse patient relationships and patient safety

Assessment Details

• Choose ONE of the patient scenarios provided (George Pham, Helen Henderson or Chester Abioye)
• Use examples from the chosen scenario AND
• Discuss how the nurse would use verbal and non-verbal communication skills, person-centred care and effective documentation to develop a therapeutic relationship with the patient and promote patient safety

Answer

Introduction: Effective communication acts as a key factor contributing to healthcare and nursing. As a vital part of healthcare sector, nurses and caregivers possess a great strength of clinical expertise that can be shared better with an addition of suitable communication styles. Appropriate communication skills followed by other factors like effective documentation and person-centred care can help in development of trust and a therapeutic relation within the caregivers and patients, contributing to a further promotion of patient safety. The present effective professional communication in nursing focuses on a case study related to Helen Henderson, a 43 year old lady, employed as a chief financial controller and is in a relationship with female. In addition, a detailed understanding of the impact of suitable non-verbal along with verbal communication on healthcare will also be highlighted.

Body: Communication plays a major role in any and every platform, let alone, Healthcare. As per the opinion of Gluyas, (2015) refered in this effective professional communication in nursing case study, serving as a strong bridge within the patient and wellness, verbal communication can be stated as the backbone of a healthcare practitioner. Consisting of both written along with spoken communication, language can be stated as the key ingredient in this style, in this case even LGBT friendly. As a caregiver, an individual can gain a great deal of assistance with the help of verbal communication involving oral interactions with the LGBT patients and their family members along with the team of healthcare professionals (McManus, 2008). Verbal communication can also be seen in written care plans for patients needing longer assistance from the caregivers. The given case study of Helen Henderson discussed in this effective professional communication in nursing can be considered as an example where healthcare professionals can play their part of gaining a LGBT patient’s trust with proper application of verbal communication. Utilizing speech as medium, caregivers can understand the issue that has pushed Helen towards health assistance. This can contribute in gaining not only valuable feedback from the patient, but also an additional help in gaining the trust of the individual. This can act as a great benefit to the general practitioner and other healthcare professionals in understanding the latent issues, forging a therapeutic relation with the LGBT patient along with their family members (Vermeir et al., 2015). Consideration of patient safety is also required in this case that can help the trust of the care-receivers to grow, speeding up the process (Garrison & Ibañez, 2016).

Non-verbal communication style holds and equal significance similar to verbal style of communication, wherein LGBT patients can be understood better based upon their body language (Lorie et al., 2017). Understanding and acknowledging such signs can prove to be helpful in gaining a deeper insight. Considering Helen Henderson as a care-user in this case, verbal communication style can hardly serve the purpose of understanding her issues if non-verbal communication is missing (Glasper, 2016). Understanding signs like facial expressions and eye contacts can provide additional help in deciphering emotional and mental stress. The case of Helen has projected an issue of growing weakness due to increasing stress. Facial expressions can be stated as a window to one’s thoughts. Understanding these expressions can serve in gaining a deeper knowledge of the source of such issue as in the case of Helen Henderson. Other gestures can also be included in this section that can provide additional support in reaching to the root of a mental turmoil. Unexpected pauses or silences while communicating can also indicate hidden thoughts acting as a barrier in receiving proper assistance in healthcare (Pearlman & Chou, 2019). All these small details can add up to a larger detail that can prove to be a great support in providing proper solutions to the LGBT patients. Showing concern for preservation of the individual’s anonymity while communicating with the care-users can reduce mental barriers in sharing problems (Garrison & Ibañez, 2016).

The present scenario of healthcare platform described in this effective professional communication in nursing has largely been affected by a holistic approach. Environment puts a huge impact upon the patient along with other significant factors like emotional status of the individual (Riley, 2015). Acknowledgement for the preferences of patients and projection of respect towards the same can help in strengthening the bond of trust within the caregivers and receivers. Apart from this, LGBT patient-centred care also involves the support and feedbacks of the family members so as to gain valuable information related to the source of an illness (McManus, 2008). This can contribute a great deal to one’s complete treatment. Considering the case of Helen Henderson in this section can provide a better understanding of the same. Helen as the care-user can be spoken about her thoughts and views regarding her health and its sources. Apart from that her daily routine can also be of assistance in this context. In addition to these details, communicating and understanding the views of her partner can also be of great support wherein, the healthcare professionals can gain insights from another perspective. This can be gained with the projection of patient safety while communicating with the family along with the individual. Unveiling the hidden habits, both good and bad based upon the valuable feedbacks of the patient’s partner can provide a clear understanding of the issues that needs assistance.

Treatment is not complete till proper documentation is framed based on the records and insights gained throughout the process. As opined by Feo & Kitson, (2016), patient-centred care circling around individuality and preference, contributes to an understanding of the uniqueness of an individual. Proper knowledge and skills on the part of the attendants in both homes and healthcare centres can prove to be a boon for both the healer and the healing individual. Patience on the side of the caregivers is another delicate string that can add to the benefits of a complete holistic healing along with the use of medical assistance. Taking time to know the LGBT person under care and addressing their perceptions, as in the case of Helen Henderson can make them feel valued in the eyes of the caregivers, helping them to remove emotional or mental barriers in the process (Glasper, 2016). Documentation of gained insights and data related to patients is another factor that helps in progressing further (Braaf, Riley & Manias, 2015). Upon consideration, barriers can be of many kinds in providing a complete holistic treatment. Often time limitation due to tight schedules binds healthcare attendants in executing a complete patient-centred care.

Conclusion
Patient-centred care can hardly be considered as terms based upon the above presented effective professional communication in nursing. An addition of effective communication styles and proper documentation can help in gaining the desired outcomes without fail. The impact of all three aspects together under any circumstance can help achieve great heights in the field of healthcare. Understanding and providing the required assistance needs proper knowledge as well as skills that can help fasten the healing process. A proper environment along with the aspects mentioned above in this effective professional communication in nursing can help escalate a treatment process manifolds, gaining assured results on the part of the care-receiver, both physically as well as mentally. Professional communication in nursing assignments are being prepared by our nursing homework help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable  university assignment help service.

References
Braaf, S., Riley, R., & Manias, E. (2015). Failures in communication through documents and documentation across the perioperative pathway. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(13-14), 1874-1884.

Feo, R., & Kitson, A. (2016). Promoting patient-centred fundamental care in acute healthcare systems. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 57, 1-11.

Garrison, N. O., & Ibañez, G. E. (2016). Attitudes of Health Care Providers Toward LGBT Patients: The Need for Cultural Sensitivity Training. American Journal of Public Health, 106(3), 570–571. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303010

Glasper, A. (2016). Ensuring optimal health care for LGBT patients. British Journal of Nursing, 25(13), 768–769. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2016.25.13.768

Gluyas, H. (2015). Effective communication and teamwork promotes patient safety. Nursing Standard (2014+), 29(49), 50.

Lorie, A., Reinero, D. A., Phillips, M., Zhang, L., & Riess, H. (2017). Culture and nonverbal expressions of empathy in clinical settings: A systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling, 100(3), 411-424.

McManus, A. (2008). Creating an LGBT-friendly practice: practical implications for NPs: EBSCOhost. 12(4), 29–38. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=968b889b-dcfa-4a2f-9b97-ba19ef84f38a%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=105743306&db=rzh

Pearlman, R. E., & Chou, C. (2019). Communication Skills Training to Enhance Patient Adherence. In Psychiatric Nonadherence (pp. 103-112). Springer, Cham.

Riley, J. B. (2015). Communication in nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., ... & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice, 69(11), 1257-1267.