Homework: Communication in nursing practice

Running head: COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE Communication in Nursing Practice Sarai Artires Capella University February 2019 1 COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE 2 Communication in Nursing Practice Communication is an important aspect of the practice of nursing. Therefore, it is important that nurses understand the types of communication that exist between them and their patients and the factors that affect the communication practices. Nurses are usually the first point of contact between patients and the healthcare system. Homework: Communication in nursing practice

They sometimes bridge the patients and their physicians. Therefore, they have to communicate smoothly with their patients to ensure that the outcomes of the healthcare system are good. In a nutshell, there are both verbal and nonverbal forms of communication between patients and nurses that enable them to understand each other and are affected by a myriad of factors that will be discussed. Verbal communications include communications that do not involve the word of mouth. Communication involves the exchange of thoughts as well as ideas and feelings via the use of word of mouth and other ways (Clark & Paraska, 2014). Therefore, for communication to take place, the nurse and the patient do not have to speak. The patient may interpret the emotions of the nurse and therefore form conclusions. In cases where patients cannot talk, they may communicate by moving parts of their body. For instance, nodding their heads to mean yes or no is common among people who cannot speak, but understand the speech of other people. Facial expressions, as well as gestures, may also be used by patients for the purposes of communication. Nurses should, therefore, be able to understand the meanings that patients attempt to deliver via their use of nonverbal communication. Verbal communication, on the other hand, is the type of communication that involves people using the speech (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). Homework: Communication in nursing practice

Patients speak in various languages and therefore when speaking to the nurses usually talk to the nurses to express themselves. Nurses should have a proper understanding of both verbal and nonverbal communication to achieve proper communication with their patients. COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE 3 There are several factors that affect the communication between nurses and their patients. One group of barriers includes the patient and career barriers. Such barriers include the environment. The environmental factors may include noise and lighting. Noise makes people less audible and therefore may hinder communication (Clark & Paraska, 2014). Poor lighting may also make it impossible to understand the nonverbal communication. There is also the issue of fear and anxiety that the patient and nurse may have. Fear makes people less free to talk. Anxiety makes people not able to talk or communicate properly because of not knowing what will happen in the future. Therefore, it is important that such factors are considered during communication. Communication is also affected by the literacy levels of the patients and the people who care for them. The illiterate patient is likely to misunderstand the nurses (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). People with high levels of literacy also speak and communicate more easily as compared to people with low levels of education. Nurses who have mastered effective communication skills because high levels of competency are likely to communicate more effectively than their counterparts. Communication skills include active listening and being audible and showing that one cares for the patient. When patients feel the connection between them and their nurses, they are likely to express themselves openly and therefore get help. Trust is another important factor that affects communication. One of the important aspects of medics and their patients is that they should establish trust to be able to work. In cases where the patient does not trust the nurse, they are less likely to share their true feelings and therefore lead to the nurses not attending to all their needs. For instance, when the patient is embarrassed an issue like a sexually transmitted illness, they may not tell the nurse because of the fear of being exposed and therefore not be treated. COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE 4 Patient communication experience is an important factor in the outcome of the patients. Homework: Communication in nursing practice

Nurses have the role of ensuring that they provide an environment that ensures recovery for patients whose illnesses are not terminal and comfort for people with terminal illnesses (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). Regardless of the types of patients, the experience of the patient is important in the recovery processes or comfort. One of the important aspects of the communication experience is privacy. Privacy involves not sharing the information of the patient with other parties. When patients feel comfortable to share their secrets with the nurses, they increase the chances of getting proper care. Nurses should choose isolated places such as offices and other areas of the facility without much traffic like the corridors to talk about the health concerns of the patients. Another communication experience that is important to patients and the outcomes of their treatment is their perception of the honesty. Nurses should be seen as honest. Homework: Communication in nursing practice

Being honest involves saying the truth (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). Honest improves the chances of the patients opening up to the nurse and improve the trust between the patients and the nurses and therefore leads to them being open about their problems. They should also feel cared for by the nurse. Caring nurses communicate with their patients in a manner that makes the patient comfortable to talk and in ways that make patients feel like their needs are important. To improve the communication experience of the patents and therefore the outcomes of nursing, it is important for nurses to implement evidence-based recommendations. One of the ways is to improve the privacy of their conversations. Privacy is very important in nursing. According to Kourkouta and Papathanasiou (2014), privacy is an important factor in building the confidence and comfort of the patients to talk to their nurses. Therefore, nurses talk freely in an enclosed environment or places where there are no interferences. It is also important to be empathetic to make the patient feel like they are cared for. Empathy involves the nurse putting COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE 5 themselves in the shoes of the patient to enable a better understanding of their problems. Nurses who are empathetic listen keenly and actively and therefore, they make the patient feel like they pay attention to their troubles and therefore are caring (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). Nurses should also have proper communication skills and create environments that enhance the delivery and understanding of both verbal and nonverbal cues. In conclusion, communication between nurses and patients is very important in the caring of the patients. Nurses are able to understand the needs of their patients and therefore attend to them via communication. However, the communication processes are affected by factors such as the environment and personal factors like literacy. Therefore, it is important that evidence-based practices are implemented to better the communication experiences of the patients to improve care. The practices that may improve care include improving the privacy of the communication and being empathetic when communicating with the patients. It is also important to acquire the literacy and improve environmental conditions to improve patient care outcomes. COMMUNICATION IN NURSING PRACTICE References Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal Relationships-E-Book: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences. Clark, C. C., & Paraska, K. K. (2014). Health promotion for nurses: A practical guide.Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett. Kourkouta, L., & Papathanasiou, I. V. (2014). Communication in nursing practice. 6  Homework: Communication in nursing practice