Communication is vital to deliver safe, effective and patient centred health care. It also allows the healthcare professional to build a rapport with the service user (Jorgenson, 1992). There are many principals involved in effective communication, several will be mentioned in this short essay.
Principle 1, Determine the service-users preferred method of communication. Communication means to “share, join, unite, or make understanding common” (Brindley and Reynolds, 2011). All patients are different, therefore it is safe to assume that all patients may have preferred ways of communicating. When little is known about the patient then it is important to first ask the patient directly how they usually communicate with others (Allen, 2003). …show more content…
Verbal communication is not appropriate for every service user. Access to communication, information and health services is regularly discussed within the deaf community (Kuenburg, Fellinger and Fellinger, 2015). In a large study about the preferred communication of deaf people in clinical settings in the UK 50% of the sign language users preferred to communicate via sign language interpreters, whereas 43% preferred to only have a consultation directly with signing health professionals; 7% agreed to accept communication with doctors using speech, as long as they are aware of deaf issues (Middleton, Turner, et al., 2010). Body language is an important factor to consider when present with any patient. Body language can be facial expressions, body gestures, posture, appearance and tactile communication. Tactile communication can be shaking hands, hugging or lightly touching another's arm (Dinică, 2013).
Principle 4, Have an understanding of barriers that may affect communication. There are many barriers that health care professionals may need to overcome, one of which is down to the ageing population and the disease Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's affects patients’ speech, movement and cognition (Gregory, 2014). They are diseases that affect the patient both physically and mentally. This can become a problem if the patient is in pain, an unexperienced student or newly qualified health care professional may be unable to understand what the patient is trying to communicate. (Herr 2011, Gregory
Principle 1, Determine the service-users preferred method of communication. Communication means to “share, join, unite, or make understanding common” (Brindley and Reynolds, 2011). All patients are different, therefore it is safe to assume that all patients may have preferred ways of communicating. When little is known about the patient then it is important to first ask the patient directly how they usually communicate with others (Allen, 2003). …show more content…
Verbal communication is not appropriate for every service user. Access to communication, information and health services is regularly discussed within the deaf community (Kuenburg, Fellinger and Fellinger, 2015). In a large study about the preferred communication of deaf people in clinical settings in the UK 50% of the sign language users preferred to communicate via sign language interpreters, whereas 43% preferred to only have a consultation directly with signing health professionals; 7% agreed to accept communication with doctors using speech, as long as they are aware of deaf issues (Middleton, Turner, et al., 2010). Body language is an important factor to consider when present with any patient. Body language can be facial expressions, body gestures, posture, appearance and tactile communication. Tactile communication can be shaking hands, hugging or lightly touching another's arm (Dinică, 2013).
Principle 4, Have an understanding of barriers that may affect communication. There are many barriers that health care professionals may need to overcome, one of which is down to the ageing population and the disease Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's affects patients’ speech, movement and cognition (Gregory, 2014). They are diseases that affect the patient both physically and mentally. This can become a problem if the patient is in pain, an unexperienced student or newly qualified health care professional may be unable to understand what the patient is trying to communicate. (Herr 2011, Gregory