Therapeutic communication refers to direct nurse-patient engagement that is focused on enhancing the physical and emotional wellbeing of the patient. Developing clear communication is vital to any relationship, particularly that which entails a doctor and a patient. Several factors can affect productive communication between a doctor and a patient in the contemporary world of increased demands for care (Kelly, 2009). Physicians face various stresses as a result of medical-care related issues such as increased patient load and tackling multiple cases of health regulations and malpractice. These issues are more likely to affect their engagement with their patients and may not provide care services as intended. From the analysis, enhancing therapeutic communication and follow-up as compared to no follow-up communication increases the compliance to outpatient treatment, patient care satisfaction, and patient-nurse care attendant engagement and relationship.
Additionally, some patients are not aware of the appropriate time to inquire about their medical services and the treatment protocol that is adopted for them. These avenues tend to create misunderstandings and increased errors, which can jeopardize the patient’s health and avail vulnerabilities for litigation of malpractice. Improving doctor-patient communication requires adherence to several aspects (Kelly, 2009). First the physician ought to put the patient at ease by ensuring warm and cordial interactions at the first encounter, the doctor should also strive to examine himself or herself for bias and strive to eradicate it, the physician should also focus his or her energies to the patient, and ensuring that all details of the patient are captured during the sessions by allowing the patient to express themselves fully.
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Methods
Databases. Databases are defined as records that physicians keep in computers and hardcopy files. All details that are recorded by the practitioners regarding their patients' forms databases. The purpose of having medical databases is to ascertain the safety of patient information, that allows for update and availability by interested parties. In this research, peer-reviewed articles that address patient-doctor communications and relationships were retrieved from various healthcare databases such as EBSCOhost, SAGE Journal, Google Scholar, and Science Direct (Krnhaber, Walsh, Duff & Walker, 2016). The importance of obtaining information from healthcare databases is its integrity of data. Hospital databases provide accurate sources of information regarding several aspects of healthcare. Retrieval of data from the databases is also made swift, efficient since all data needed is stored in one place. The key terms used in searching for patient-doctor communication aspects include, ‘nurse-client understanding,’ ‘nurse-patient relationship,’ ‘effective communication,’ ‘patient adherence to Medicare,’ and ‘benefits of effective communication in healthcare.’ Twelve papers meeting the inclusion criteria were selected (Krnhaber, Walsh, Duff & Walker, 2016).
Discussion
Evidence Across Studies
Krnhaber, Walsh, Duff, & Walker's (2016) article review discusses the topic of promoting adult therapeutic engagements primarily in the chronic cares setting. The methodology involved included a literature search from websites such as PubMed and Allied Health Literature. The findings illustrate that cultural and therapeutic communications foster interpersonal relationships. The major limitation of this study is its restriction to the adult population while the experiences of pediatric and adolescence are not captured in this piece.
Penda's (2017) research study illustrates the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship with mentally challenged patients in society. The methodology involved in this research paper was a literature review that involved an electronic database search from sources such as google scholar, EBSCOHOST, and the SAGE Journal. The key findings of the study include trust, empowerment, communication, patient acknowledgment, consistent care, empathy, genuineness, and respect as the key elements of the caregiver-patient relationship. The major limitation of the study is that databases required premium accounts to retrieve information and the use of articles with full texts, this avails an element of bias, and therefore relevant documents might have been left out.
McDonald (2016) addresses the importance of enhancing communication with patients in the National Health Services (NHS). The article is a literature review of previous measures undertaken in NHS to foster a patient-clinician relationship within the healthcare. The outcomes of this study attributed that improved patient-doctor communication results in enhanced patient-outcomes, efficiency, and adjusts patient adherence to medication. However, this study does not offer a comprehensive methodology, which is a significant limitation of the study.
Sheldon (2014) attributes communication skills are the cornerstone of developing a therapeutic relationship with a patient. The author has used a case study methodology to obtain data on the elements that entail excellent communication skills. The study’s primary finding is that effective communication skills result in an improved nurse-patient relationship, which subsequently fosters adherence to medication and quick recovery among patients. The limitations of using a case study include its difficulties in replication information to a larger population and time-consuming.
Iadema & Mandi's (2013) study entails a literature review of numerous research studies on patient-clinician communication. The outstanding finding of this review is the focus on the patient-clinician relationship which is attributed as the primary contributor to patient recovery and improved outcomes. The authors attest that patient adherence to medication and improved general outcomes is underpinned within the abilities of the clinician to maintain effective communication with the patient by adopting excellent listening skills, the use of non-offensive questions, and allowing patients to articulate themselves without interference fully. The significant recommendations from this review include; patient acting as the object- this calls for clinicians to engage in questions regarding patient language and aspects of diagnosis, treatment course, and clinical outcomes. The second recommendation is viewing the patient as a person and entails a mastery of traits associated with ailments for better comprehension of clinical problems and improved outcomes. Finally, seeing the patient as uncertainty which provides ways of tackling complex unknown or unclear illnesses. The major limitation of book review studies is its unrealistic recommendations without actual data collected from the field.
Bello's (2017) study unveils practical communication, its barriers, and how it affects health and its relationship to nursing practice. The research methodology entails a literature review from sources such as EBSCO and SAGE, and science direct. The significant findings from this review indicate that effective communication has huge impacts on health performance and satisfaction of patients. Also, the barriers to communication are majorly linked to traits of the caregivers and the patients, and that more training is needed to educate nurses on essential elements of effective communication. The major limitation of book review studies is its unrealistic recommendations without actual data collected from the field.
Priebe &McCabe's (2008) study journal evaluates the therapeutic relations in psychiatry, and its attributed result in improved outcomes. The study is a review of past literature on effective communication in healthcare. The review finds a therapeutic relationship in mental healthcare as one treatment alternative for mental sickness. The authors recommend that psychiatrists' first qualification should be centered on therapeutic skills. The major limitation of this research review is its difficulty in replicating the findings to larger demography.
Sherko, Sotiri, & Lika (2013) review article addresses the ideologies of therapeutic communication and highlights the significance of this concept in nursing practice. The outstanding finding from this study is that patients are unique, and some sometimes reserved in providing sensitive information regarding their health, and thus, switching between multiple interview skills is paramount to fruitful therapeutic communication. The limitation of this research is its overreliance on previously published articles; hence, its authenticity is somewhat questionable.
Pullen's (2010) study is an article review that identifies ways of enhancing therapeutic nurse-patient engagements. The significant findings include the outcomes of this study attributed that improved patient-doctor communication results in improved patient-outcomes, results in efficiency, and improves patient adherence to medication. However, this study does not offer comprehensive methodology which is a significant limitation of the study.
Sigridur (2007) provides the elementary nurse-patient relationship which is an established theory from the patient’s view. The methodology used in creating the approach is theory synthesis, which involves constructing a thesis from empirical evidence that incorporates a lot of research material. This study has implications for nursing practice in nursing practice; the theory suggests a service connection with nurses helps foster a good relationship with patients, in administration. The major limitation of book review studies is its unrealistic recommendations without actual data collected from the field.
Kelly's (2009) study provides Several empirical research from various demography and settings regarding the link between compliance of patients to treatment to effective communication between the physician and communication. This research paper analyzes the relationship between a physician’s communication and patient compliance and satisfaction. The methods employed in this research paper included an intensive search of print literature to find both qualitative and quantitative sources. The findings of this paper postulate that the nurse’s communication is directly proportional compliance of the patient. Although several search strategies have been employed to retrieve the information other important information may likely have been omitted.
Fatimah, Ct. (2014) research paper identifies ways of enhancing therapeutic nurse-patient engagements. The significant findings include the outcomes of this study attributed that improved patient-doctor communication results in improved patient-outcomes, results in efficiency, and improves patient adherence to medication. However, this study does not offer comprehensive methodology which is a significant limitation of the study.
Conclusion
As discussed in the paper, therapeutic communication refers to direct nurse-patient engagement that is focused on enhancing the physical and emotional wellbeing of the patient. The use of databases in the retrieval of information offers several benefits, such as the provision of accurate sources of information regarding several aspects of healthcare. The extraction of data from the databases is also made swift, efficient since all data needed is stored in one place. The significant findings from the study emphasize the importance of effective therapeutic nurse-patient communication in fostering good relationships and patient adherence to medication that results in improved patient outcomes in the long run.
References
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