Effective Communication: Elements and Methods

• Communication is the exchange of information where a message is sent, received, and correctly interpreted by the intended person.

Elements of Communication

• Sender: The person who sends the message
• Receiver: The person who receives the message
• Message: The information being communicated
• Feedback: Response from the receiver to the sender
• Encoding: The process of converting the message into a form that can be transmitted
• Decoding: The process of converting the received message into a form that the receiver can understand
• Noise: Anything that interferes with the communication process

Methods of Communication

• Verbal communication involves the use of language, either spoken or written, and uses words to express ideas
• Non-verbal communication does not use words and includes facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice

Strategies for Effective Communication

• Be a good listener when you are the receiver
• Ensure your message is clear when you are the sender
• Learn techniques to encourage people to talk
• Provide and seek feedback
• Be mindful of your body language and tone of voice
• Remember the value of silence and a comforting touch

Goal of Communication

• The receiver understands the meaning of the message and perceives it the same as the sender

Effective Communication

• Defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently

Keys to Effective Communication

• Be positive
• Be a listener
• Be an echo
• Be a mirror
• Be real

3 C's of Assertive Communication

• Confidence: Believe in your ability to handle a situation
• Clear: Ensure the message is clear and easy to understand
• Controlled: Deliver information in a calm and controlled manner

Barriers to Communication: Poor Listening Skills

• Contributing to ineffective communication
• Listening involves understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding

Steps to Improve Listening Skills

• Be quiet and pay attention
• Stop other activities and focus on the speaker
• Look and sound interested
• Do not interrupt the speaker
• Do not think of a response while the person is speaking
• Do not finish sentences for the speaker

Communicating with those in Care Visual Impairment

• Let them know your presence (knock)
• Knock or announce yourself immediately
• Stand where they can see you and call them by name
• Describe the surroundings and events
• Describe each step of a skill as you perform it, and describe equipment
• Encourage them to hold your arm for support when moving, describe the path, and mention obstacles

Communicating with those in Care Hearing Impairment

• Approach from the front and touch their hand or arm to gain attention
• Determine which ear hears better and position yourself near that ear
• Be aware that they read lips and watch your mouth
• Speak slowly, clearly, and in short sentences
• If they don't understand, change your words, not the volume
• Reduce background noise
• Use gestures or written messages for clarification, and ask for confirmation

Types of Hearing Loss

• Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type
• Conductive hearing loss
• Mixed hearing loss

Communicating with Family

• Explain your role in providing care
• Build a relationship by learning about the family, their history, and listening to them

Communicating with other Members of Health Care Team: Medical Terms

• Root: The foundation of the word, all medical words have at least one root
• Prefix: Added before the root to make it more specific
• Suffix: Added after the root to make it more specific
• Combining vowel: "o," "a," or "i," added between the root and suffix

Abdominal Regions

• Used to describe the location of body structures, pain, or discomfort
• Right upper quadrant (RUQ)
• Left upper quadrant (LUQ)
• Right lower quadrant (RLQ)
• Left lower quadrant (LLQ)

Directional References

• Anterior (Ventral): At or toward the front of the body
• Posterior (Dorsal): At or toward the back of the body
• Proximal: Nearest to the center or point of origin
• Distal: Farthest from the center or point of attachment
• Lateral: Away from the midline
• Medial: At or near the midline

Reporting

• Verbal exchange of information between members of the health care team

Observation

• Noticing something about the patient or resident, related to a change in their physical or mental condition

Objective Observations

• Relate to information obtained directly using the five senses
• Example: feeling that skin is hot and dry

Subjective Observations

• Relate to information that cannot be detected with the five senses or measured using equipment
• Example: a patient reporting a headache

Recording / "Charting"

• Communicating information about a patient or resident to other health care team members in written form

Medical Record (Chart)

• Legal document of the person's condition
• Measures taken to diagnose and treat the condition, and their response

Reporting Rules and Information

• Be prompt, thorough, and accurate
• Include the person's name, room and bed number, and the time of observations
• Report only what you observed or did yourself
• Report expected changes in the person's condition
• Report any changes from normal or changes in the person's condition

Paper Charting Guidelines

• Always use ink
• Make sure writing is readable and neat
• Never erase or use correction fluid
• Do not skip lines

Electronic Charting

• Log in using your username and password
• Check the time your entry is made and for accuracy
• Save your entries

Therapeutic Communication

• Techniques that prioritize the patient's physical, mental, and emotional well-being

Goals of Therapeutic Communication

• Establish a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship
• Identify the most important patient's needs
• Assess the patient's perception of the problem
• Facilitate the patient's expression of emotions
• Implement interventions to address the patient

Principles of Therapeutic Communication

• The patient should be the primary focus
• A professional attitude sets the tone
• Use self-disclosure cautiously and only when it has a therapeutic purpose
• Avoid social relationships and maintain patient confidentiality
• Assess the patient's intellectual competence
• Implement interventions from a theoretic base
• Maintain a non-judgmental attitude and avoid giving advice
• Guide the patient to interpret experiences rationally

Therapeutic Communication Techniques

• Active Listening: Attentive to what the client is saying, verbally and non-verbally.
• Sharing Observations: Commenting on how the other person looks, sounds, or acts.
• Sharing Empathy: The ability to understand and accept another person's reality

More Therapeutic Communication Techniques

• Sharing Hope, sharing a "sense of possibility" to others
• Sharing Humour contributes to togetherness, closeness, and friendliness
• Sharing Feelings by helping clients express emotions
• Using Touch for the most potent form of communication
• Silence for time to observe, sort out feelings, and consider what to say
• Providing Information that is relevant to make decisions, experience less anxiety, and feel safe and secure
• Clarifying to check whether understanding is accurate
• Focusing by taking notice of a single idea expressed or even a single word
• Paraphrasing by restating another's message more briefly using one's own words
• Asking Relevant Questions – seek information needed for decision making
• Summarizing bringing a sense of closure

Non-Therapeutic Communication Techniques

• These "block" communication of feelings and ideas
• Hinders an effective nurse-patient relationship.
• Avoid pitfalls when interacting.

Cultural Awareness

• Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.
• Cultural Competence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with people from other cultures.
• Ethnicity usually indicates cultural heritage, the experience shared by people who have a common ancestral origin, language, traditions, etc.
• Race a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits.
• Cultural Awareness is the understanding that our own culture differs from one individual and group to the next, and specifically from our target language.