Transcript Health Occupations

Health Occupations
Communication – Chapter
7.4
Communication
Definition – exchange of information,
thoughts, ideas, & feelings
 Occurs through
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– Verbal
– Written
– Nonverbal
Elements of Communication
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Sender – individual creating message to
convey info or ideas to another
Message – info, ideas, thoughts
Receiver – individual who receives message
from sender
Problem with one element = ineffective
communication
Feedback – occurs when receiver responds
– Can determine if communication is successful
– Allows interpretation
– Can be nonverbal or verbal
Factors interfering with
communication
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Unclear message
– Sender & receiver must both understand
– Medical terminology dangerous & must be
modified, defined, or substituted
– Practice, practice, practice – message
must be clearly understood
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Message garbled or not precise
– Need correct pronunciation & grammar
Factors interfering
– Avoid slang or words with double meaning
– You know, ok, um, all that stuff … poor
– Tone & pitch important (I really like this job)
– Rate of delivery important
• Too fast – can’t understand
• Too slow – boring
– Written communications
• Spelling, grammar, punctuation correct
• Short but concise
Factors interfering
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Inability to hear by receiver
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May not hear info
May not process info
May not receive info
Examples –
• Hearing or vision impaired
• Limited English speakers
– Help the receiver to respond by
• Repeating message
• Changing form of message
• Get others to interpret or clarify
Factors interfering
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Inability to understand message
– Unfamiliar terminology
• Many do not admit misunderstanding
• Need to ask questions or repeat in different terms
– Attitudes & prejudices
• Pts won’t accept info from people they feel are
unqualified
• “I don’t know but I can find out”
• HCP need to be aware of prejudices & attitudes about
pts
Factors interfering
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Interruptions & distractions
– Loud noises
– Bright lights
– Uncomfortable temperatures
– Telephone
– Background noise
– Background activities
– Need to eliminate these
Listening
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Paying attention to & make effort to hear what
others are saying
 Techniques
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Show interest & concern
Eye contact, be alert
Avoid interruptions
Avoid thinking about how you will respond
See from other’s point of view
Watch closely for nonverbal – may contradict
Reflect statements back to speaker
Ask for clarification
Control temper
Nonverbal communication
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Facial expressions
– Smile, frown, wink
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Body language
– Shoulder shrug, tapping fingers/toes
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Gestures
 Eye contact
 Touch
– Hold hands, pat on back, handshake, hug
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MORE HONEST THAN VERBAL!!!!!!!!
Communication Barriers
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Something that gets in the way of clear
communication
 Physical disabilities
– Deafness or hearing loss
– Blindness or impaired vision
– Aphasia or speech impairment
• May know what they want to say, but can’t remember
how to say it
• May have difficulty with pronunciation
• Slurred & distorted speech
Communication Barriers
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Psychological barriers
– Caused by prejudice, attitudes, personality
– Close-mindedness, preaching, judging, arguing,
overreacting, advising
– Judgment often based on appearance, lifestyle,
socioeconomic status
– Stereotypes – lazy bum, fat slob, dumb blonde
– Show respect to ALL regardless – respect the
individual
– Fear is usually cause of negativity & anger – allow
pts to express fears or anger
Communication Barriers
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Cultural diversity
– Culture – values, beliefs, attitudes, & customs
shared by a group of people
• Passed from one generation to the next
• Often defined as a set of rules
• Allows interpretation of environment & actions of others
to behave appropriately
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Cultural beliefs about health care differ
Language differences
Eye contact – not appropriate for all patients
Ways of dealing with terminal illness or disability
Touch
Recording & reporting
All observations must be reported!
 Listen to what pt says & observe what
pt does or looks like
 Use all senses
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– Eyes
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Color of skin, urine, stool
Edema – swelling
Presence of rash or sore
Amount of food eaten
Recording & reporting
– Sense of smell
• Body odor
• Unusual odors of breath, wounds, urine, or stool
– Sense of touch
• Pulse
• Dryness or skin temp
• Perspiration & swelling
– Sense of hearing
• Respirations & coughs
• Abnormal body sounds
• Speech
– OBSERVATIONS YOU MAKE ABOUT YOUR
PATIENTS ARE OBJECTIVE!
Reporting observations
Report to immediate supervisor
 SUBJECTIVE – usually called
symptoms
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– What a person complains of
– Cannot be seen & felt by HCP
– Usually statements by pt
– Must be reported using exact words
Reporting observations
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OBJECTIVE OBSERVATION – usually
called signs
– Can be seen & measured by HCP
– All HCP will assess in the same way
– Examples – BP, pulse, temperature – use
exact measurements, not feels hot
• Measure & describe exactly with detail
Recorded observations
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Must be accurate, concise, complete, neat, &
legible
Spelling & grammar correct
If using subjective info, write in pts own words
Write all objective information
Signed with first initial, last name, title
Errors – crossed out with single line
– Record error & initial