Hcs 320 Communication

Communication Opinion Paper Karen Candido-Johnson HCS320 March 18, 2013 Lynn Bell Communication Opinion Paper Communication is expression of meaning through verbal and non-verbal means. It is the basis for relaying all information to another person or persons. We use it every day to tell people how we feel, to inform them of a situation or just to say hi. Effective communication is essential to getting your ideas and thoughts across accurately and understood. Healthcare communication differs since the information is more sensitive than communication, say, between friends.

The patient has to be able to effectively give their concerns over to a stranger for the most part and it is the Dr. ’s job to understand that information given. Culture can also play a role too as different ideas about what communication is varies. The basic elements of communication which are listening, body language, speaking, open ended questions, summarizing, emotions and follow up (Hewitt,2009). For effective communication to occur shared understanding must happen (Cheesbro, O’Connor & Rios, 2010) You can have all the basics of communication but unless both parties understand each other then it is just baseless information.

The basic elements of effective communication differ from the basic rules of health care because there is often not shared understanding. A provider will receive the information from the patient regarding symptoms and make an informed decision. The Dr. will then try to explain to the patient the problem but it is hard to do so when someone does not have the medical background to understand what the situation is. This makes it difficult for effective communication to occur.

In order to have the best chance at effective communication the provider has to encourage the patient to give as much information as possible. Patients may have a difficult time getting across to their Dr. what they are feeling or what is going on. It is then the providers responsibility to coax the patient into relaying the information in a way that they can understand. They can do this by being empathetic with the patient and showing kindness. By being open and friendly they can put the patient at ease and this would make it easier for them to talk about difficult issues they are facing.

As McDonald (2006) said engage the patient and move beyond them feeling like an intruder and develop a relationship and report with the patient. Putsch (1985) said communication in health care is a complex issue. Language and cultural barriers complicate the situation. The primary problem is language. This can be fixed with interpreters to some extent, but you still have the basic cultural issues to go through. What one culture might see as not a problem, say loose bowels, could actually be an outlying cause of another more serious issue.

There are also cultures where seeing a Dr. is not the way to fix an illness and they rely on homeopathic remedies rather than western medicine. This becomes problematic when a Dr. is seeing the patient after all else has failed and they don’t know what caused the symptoms, whether it was the cure or the actual illness. Dr. ’s and nurses have to be careful what they ask and how to speak to a patient because it might cause alarm or be considered rudeness when asked.

Most hospitals and health centers now have cultural training to help providers navigate the minefield of problems associated with this. Everyone has some type of communication in their daily lives. It is effortless to most people. Something we do without thinking. In healthcare though, we have to be extra vigilant to make sure the lines of communication stay open. Without effective communication a patient is not able to tell their provider what is wrong and there for the provider will not be able to make a good diagnosis and help cure the patient.

References: Cheesebro, T. , O’Connor, L. , ; Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the Workplace . Pearson Education Hewitt, D. (2009, December). Basics of Effective Communication. Live Strong  McDonald, D. D. (2006). Health care communication. New York, United States, New York: Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/189457409? accountid=35812 Putsch MD, R. W. (1985, December). Cross-cultural Communication The Special Case of Interpreters in Health Care. Journal Of American Medical Association, 254(23).