Every professional field comes with its requirements under the code of conduct. The field of healthcare is an example where the mode of communication is very sensitive and determines the outcome of the treatment one is subjected to. Medical professionals are taught the art of communicating professionally in their training to assist them to acquire much out of the patient and at the same time give back equally much to the patient. However, the field has faced many incidences of unprofessionalism that cuts across many areas chief among the communication. Good communication promotes patient’s confidence in the medical worker and also improves service delivery. The paper will focus on the topic of professional communication in health care setting including the cultural aspects involved. It will also illuminate the major areas of communication that can be broadly subdivided into peer to peer and health worker to patient kind of communication.
Inefficient communication among health workers is a recipe for medical errors and patient harm. Professional communication among health professionals across different cadres should be a horizontal one characterized with respect and a mutual aim of patients’ benefit. Communication errors between the nurses and physicians have always been implicated in errors associated with patient management. The nurses have in many cases accused the physicians of intimidating them and in the process forcing them to administer medication that they might have otherwise questioned. Effective and professional communication with a minimal superiority complex, intimidation and pressure will ensure every cadre works to perfection thereby increasing their output as far as good service delivery is concerned.
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Unprofessional communication that may present in forms such as delays in communicating, ambiguity or totally no communication is a contributing factor to adverse effects in patients. In intensive care units where critical patients are monitored, professional communication is important. Without proper communication, negative effects such as patient harm, the length of hospital stay, increased resource use and rapid turnover will be experienced. Again, in the ICUs, improper communication among physician and nurses may easily lead to patients' risk of contracting more diseases or even death.
Professional communication among health care givers involves giving out content that is consistently complete and accurate. This applies more to laboratory workers whose results are used in the management of critical patients. Laboratory results must always be accurate and above all reliable to help the physician to form a sound judgment on the treatment of the patient. When the results are incoherent, altered or mismatched, the physician will form a wrong judgment on the patient that is likely to harm them even more. When physicians and pharmacists prescribe drugs to patients, they should ensure that the description is vivid enough so that the patient grabs the indications and the usage of the drugs for an effective outcome. Health workers dealing with the compilation and the reporting of health indicators must also be sure to give out a report that depicts the truth on the ground. When the medical report hardly corresponds with reality, then the patient is at great risk because relevant authorities cannot do a proper planning on the future of its patients.
In dealing with the patient, professional communication is vital in some ways. It is the duty of the physician to explain diagnosis, investigation, and treatment to the patient in the best way possible. In a hospital setting, the patient is the client, and it is their right to demand an explanation of the various procedures they are normally subjected to. Part of professional communication involves giving the patient the power of autonomy that is to allow the patient to be the center of all decision makings unless they are incapacitated. It is also important for the health caregiver to be constantly in touch with the next of kin of the patients and giving them updates and the necessary steps taken on the patient.
Professional communication is also required to the highest degree during breaking bad news. In the health field, bad news may include but not limited to death, diagnosis with a fatal disease such as cancer and HIV/AIDS, loss of innervations, miscarriages, etc. Such news can be so detrimental to the receiver that they may cause the provocation of underlying diseases or sometimes massive depression. A health professional should always employ an encouraging tone, be keen not to elicit emotions but at the same time maintaining firmness and reality. The health care provider must also employ professional communication when dealing with anxious patients and relatives.
Medical-legal issues in a health care setting demand a lot of procedure and sobriety characterized by professional communication. A doctor may be called upon in a court of law to testify against a crime of rape or physical assault from a medical perspective. Professional communication will play a key role in ensuring that the doctor articulates his/her points well. The doctor or a medical specialist must also follow certain communication procedures to obtain informed consent for an invasive procedure or a post-mortem. Professional communication may also be essential in scenarios such as giving instructions on the discharge of the patient, giving a counseling session on matters that deal with lifestyle, health promotion and certain risk factors.
Health workers must also know how to effectively communicate with patients that require special needs such as the blind, deaf and the psychic. Professional communication here involves a lot of patience, tolerance and above all skills that will ensure the message is brought home. Above all, the health workers must be mindful of their language in the hospital. All contexts should either be scientific or professional. Fellow workers should be referred with their official names, medical samples such as stool and urine referred as that and diseases that are associated with much stigmatization such as HIV/AIDS should avoid being named in a manner that may demoralize the victims. Ethical concerns on the language must also be maintained and respected. Both horizontal and vertical communications must be effective without any intimidation or favor.
Cultural aspects such as the belief that quality service delivery can only be measured by the level of professional training affect proper communication in a health care setting. Many aspects such as stress, fatigue, destructions, poor communication skills and bad decision making are sources of error in the health care field. When there is a failure to recognize and address such issues, there arises a culture of a blame game, unrealistic expectations, and mismanagement.
In conclusion, effective communication that is based on the ethical requirements is the basis of professional communication, professional harmony and patients' success in a hospital. Communication in a hospital may be of two forms, peer to peer or healthcare provider to the patient. It is clear that unprofessional communication in a hospital will only be detrimental to the patients' welfare. Peaceful coexistence among health cadres can only be achieved when the communication is based on mutual respect. The patient will only benefit if they are subjected to the professional communication under circumstances such as breaking bad news, prescription, examination and decision making, etc. It is, therefore, the role of all health workers to sharpen their interpersonal skills and act professionally through more training and workshops to sharpen the art of effective communication.
