Communication and Reflection in Nursing: Barriers, Essential Elements, and Strategies for Improvement

This article discusses the barriers to effective communication in nursing, essential elements of effective patient-clinician communication, and strategies to improve communication. It also includes a personal reflection on a communication experience. The article emphasizes the significance of communication in nursing and how it defines the ethical standards required. The course ID, professor, and institution affiliation are mentioned.

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COMMUNICATION AND REFLECTION
By (Name)
Course ID
Professor (Tutor)
Institution Affiliation
Date

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Introduction
Nursing as a science of health care, concentrates on attending to the needs of people as
spiritual and biopsychosocial beings. Its practice necessitates not only systematic knowledge, but
as well technical, intellectual and interpersonal, capabilities and skills. This implies an alignment
of interpersonal communication, knowledge, and clinical work. Communication is an essential
component in Nursing in every area of activity and in all its interventions such as therapy,
rehabilitation, education, prevention, health promotion, and treatment. Moreover, the nursing
procedure as a scientific system of exercise and implementation of Nursing is attained through
interpersonal environment, exchange of ideas, and with explicit abilities of verbal
communication (Sully, et al., 2010). Communication is a process and if this particular process
breaks down then the communication will as well fail. Communication process is dynamic and it
all depends on the effective execution by the parties involved. From the “Poor Communication”
video on the YouTube, there are clear communication barriers between the nurse and her patient.
For that reason, their communication process is not effective and clear. There are many instances
when people interacting may fail to recognize one another’s needs (Morrissey & Callaghan,
2011). This paper will also reflect on my eventful encounter with the police, who had mistaken
me for having taken a stolen bicycle, which required a proper explanation to get myself out of
trouble. While it takes a lot of effort to become an effective communicator, hence it is
fundamental that a person strives to become thorough communicator.
Describe What Barriers to Communication are displayed by the Nurse
From the video on poor communication, the nurse expresses a clear lack of empathy and
understanding towards her patient. The barriers seen here in communication, as expressed by the
nurse is the lack of proper listening skills. As a clinical professional, there is a great need for one

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to have a patient-centered listening approach towards the clients (Berman et al., 2017). For
instance, in the video, the nurse is giving her patient little or no chance to express and explain her
conditions and the way she is progressing with her therapy. This scenario, therefore, denies the
patient to correctly state her current situation properly.
What Essential Elements of Effective Patient-Clinician Communication should the
Nurse Have Displayed?
All the professional nurses are required to exhibit outlined principles of communications
towards their patients. According to Paget et al (2011, p.3) the clinical professionals should
exhibit seven basic principles of effective patient-clinician communication. Among them is
mutual respect, supportive environment, the right information and harmonized goals among
others. These are the essential elements that the nurse in the video should have displayed during
the conversation with her patient, to make the process more suitable for the patient.
How Might this Example of Ineffective Communication Impact on the Patient
Recovery?
The instance of ineffective communication as displayed by the nurse could be detrimental
to the recovery of the patient (King et al., 2014, p.2). The problems may arise from both sides, in
that when the patient does not give the nurse all the required information regarding his or her
condition, the nurse may end up giving wrong prescription. Likewise, when the communication
from the nurse to the patient is not clear, the patient may follow wrong instructions, which
interferes with the recovery process (White, 2016).
How is Effective Communication related to the Registered Nurses Scope of
Practice and Ethical Responsibilities?

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It is also significant to understand that effective communication plays a central role in the
nurses’ careers, as it defines the ethical standards required and acts as the main medium through
which the effective diagnosis can be achieved (King & Hoppe, 2013, p.385). The significance of
the communication in the nursing profession is invaluable, as in most cases, effective
communication establishes good relationships between the nursing professionals and their
patients. Therefore, there are several ways through which the patient-nurse communication could
be improved (Kennedy et al., 2014).
What Actions and Strategies May Help to Improve This Patient -Nurse
Communication?
Training of the nurses on the importance of effective communication could be one of the
vital strategies. Also, the nurses should be required to exhibit high levels of communication
prowess to be considered for their roles. Refresher courses, especially those aimed at improving
the communication skills of the nurses should be prioritized. Also, there should be clear set
guidelines at work places that stipulate how nurses should conduct themselves communication
wise as a way of improving their keenness in handling the patients, and also eliminating the
barriers of communications with the clients (Kennedy, et al., 2014).
Reflection on My Communication Experience
Four months ago, I encountered both frightening and interesting experience with the
police. As I was strolling down the my local street in the neighborhood with my bicycle, the
place stopped me and asked for an explanation to prove the bicycle I had was truly mine. I was
surprised, shocked and amused at the same time. How would one explain to prove something
that truly belonged to them? I watched the police and stammered. My communication was not
clear, as I could only just say, “the bike is mine.”

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Ultimately, the police ran out of patience with me, and finally handcuffed me to the
police post some few meters from where we were. It was then I realized I was in real problems
and I needed proper solutions to my problems. The police were on the hunt of a stolen bicycle,
and they claimed that the description matched my bicycle. Through a systematic explanation, I
informed the police about all the details of my bicycle including the year in which it was
purchased. I supported my evidence with the photos in my phone I had taken one year ago with
the same machine. After twenty minutes of explanation and trying to convince them, it finally
emerged that the bicycle model in question had similar make with the stolen one but the details
did not match. That is how I recognized how effective communication process could be crucial
during a crisis moment (Maurer, 2014).
In conclusion, communication plays significant role in various scenarios. From the
nursing perspective to the any normal life situations, it is significant part of life. However, most
importantly in the nursing profession, nurses need to express enhanced competence in
communicating with their patients for effective treatment outcomes (Doherty et al., 2016).

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