Introduction
Nursing is a health care service and practice requiring scientific knowledge, but also necessitates intellectual, interpersonal, and technical skills and abilities. This implies that it entails a composition of clinical work, knowledge and interpersonal communication (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). In nursing, communication is a vital element in all areas of their activities plus in all their interventions such as health promotion, which encompasses the treatment, prevention, rehabilitation, therapy, and education of their patients. Nurses in hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical settings need to regularly communicate with their patients and residents over medical procedures, the patient’s overall health, and daily care tasks of their patients. Communication in the practice of nursing is central to patient-centered care meaning that clinicians should communicate to the patient using their favorite mode of communication. In the care setting, nurses use different types of communication such as verbal vs. non-verbal, formal vs. informal, technology-aided, and signs and symbols.
Communication can be defined as the exchange of feelings, thoughts, and information among people using speech and other means of communication. Oral communication is involved in therapeutic practice by public health officials, nurses, patients and their relatives. This form of communication is two way as the patient conveys their fears and concerns to their nurse. The nurse later helps them when it comes to making the correct diagnosis (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). The information is later relayed to the information to their patients in a discrete and delicate manner on the nature of their disease. The nurse also advises the patient on the treatment and rehabilitation plan to be conducted in an attempt to restore the clients health.
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Verbal vs. non-verbal
Before proceeding with any medical procedure with their patients, health care workers verbally communicate with their patients to inform them of what needs to be done. Through this procedure, patients are able to know what to expect. Verbal communication translates to patients informing their care providers on how they are feeling and relay their concerns. They can also ask questions with regard to their disease and care (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). The nursing practice should also not make any assumptions as it may result in costly errors. Therefore, it is important for nurses to confirm their patients understanding of the transcribed doctor’s report.
Nursing practice uses non-verbal communication that happens without words expressed by gestures, facial expressions, posture and physical barriers like distance from the interlocutor. In other instances, nurses lean forward when talking to their patients. This is a form of non-verbal communication to show they care. Verbal and non-verbal communication need to always be in agreement in the nursing practice particularly during stressful conditions. In such instances, it becomes difficult for the nurse to see the changes in non-verbal messages of their patients (Kourkouta & Papathanasiou, 2014). However, by listening nurses are able to assess the patients situation and problems and thus, nursing practice will manage to enhance their patients self-esteem. By so doing, they will integrate both the process of care and nursing diagnosis presented at all levels. Listening is equally essential to reduce errors made especially when acquiring important background information of the patient.
Formal vs. informal
In hospital, documents and policies use the formal type of communication to address the needs of their patients. Effective communication has been reached through the use of new technologies like Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE), EMR System, and patient portal systems. They can be rigid implying that no or little feedback room is available for patients and their family members. As such, this type of communication is used by nurses in explaining to patients and their families that hospital’s policies. When it comes to informal types of communication, they are defined as impromptu, brief and context-rich interaction culminating down to effective communication. They normally involve small groups of people triggered by their proximity mediated through tangible artifacts like whiteboards, paper, sharing and negotiation, post-it notes and even magnets for information recording. Such forms of communication have facilitated effective and flexible communication that coordinates their work (Chen et al., 2013). In nursing practice, informal communication is conducted through verbal channels that report their work progress. It is a less structured type of communication implying that they allow for more interaction and communication to occur between patients and their caregivers. In informal communication, the nursing practice looks at the patient’s interests, their daily activities and families.
Technology-aided
In nursing practice, technology has helped them in communicating with those patients who are not able to communicate with their caregivers. For example, patients who are dumb are able to type their thoughts into a computer and this device announces the message out loud to the care givers. In these instances, technology-aided communication in use includes both hearing and speaking devices.
Tools and services of information and communication technology (ICT) in health are used to access a wide variety of technological communication solutions that includes text messaging, monitoring and gathering of data, diagnosis and treatment at distances, and the retrieval of health records, electronically. This form of communication is called e-Health where interaction is conducted between patients and health service providers among other stakeholders in the practice of nursing. Video technology is used by nurses in their practice to communicate to their patients by complementing their health monitoring (Lindberg et al., 2013). This technology has helped the practice of nursing to improve self-management issues of their patients by giving them guidance on the use of their medical equipment and so on. Text messages are also other types of technology-aided communication essential in the practice of nursing.
Signs and symbols
Signs and symbols are graphical ways of communicating to patients’ essential information. Nursing practice also uses signs and symbols to communicate quickly with their patients and even visitors with needs that require attending. By using this type of communication in the practice of nursing, individuals unable to read or understand specific languages like English are able to communicate their needs. Symbols can also be used in the practice of nursing to warn people of safety and health hazards. Moreover, they are intended to give patients and their family members plus other visitors’ information. Picture diagrams are also used by nursing practice professionals to educate their clients on certain topics like the importance of washing their hands after visiting the toilet. Signs and symbols are vital in the practice of nursing because the professi0nals interact with people from various cultures. This form of communication effectively relays information to such people in a manner that accords them respects as human beings.
Verbal vs. non-verbal, formal vs. informal, technology-aided, and signs and symbols are some of the important types of communication applied in the practice of nursing. Each of the stated type of communication have shown their effectiveness when it comes to nursing practice according their patients with care that is patient-centered. From the above, it is evident that the practice of nursing acknowledges that communication is a basic nursing competency. This communication will require nurses to be skillful because nurses are required to convey the message to their patients in an understandable and acceptable way. In nursing practice, effective communication is imperative for obtaining optimal patient care and preventing nursing errors. In addition, it is vital because it will result in understanding the patient and in them expressing their experiences. Communication in the nursing practice is essential because nursing roles continue to expand.
References
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