Errors in Communication

This document discusses the errors in communication in healthcare and their impact on patient care. It highlights the importance of empathy, appropriate body posture, and other communication skills in building rapport with patients and ensuring effective care. The errors discussed include lack of empathy and compassion, inappropriate body posture, lack of patient knowledge, and crossing professional boundaries.

Running head: ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
Description of the first error and rationale for considering so:
First error: Lack of empathy and compassion is one of the most important errors in
communication that was noticed.
Description: One of the issues that were found with the communication procedure was that the
healthcare professional did not exhibit empathy and compassion with the patient. This is evident
from the fact where the patient had certain queries about her own health and was found to be
quite concerned but the professional was found to adopt a very casual approach and did not show
any empathy to the patient. She was found to be quite casual in her approach and even stated a
very insensitive comment stating that many women do suffer the same issues and therefore, she
should not think about it. Such casual tone could have made the patient feel that her situation was
generalized and that her concerns were not provided any significance by the nursing
professional. Studies opine that effective communication that should be adopted by the
healthcare professional should comprise of exhibition of empathy and compassion (Foronda et
al., 2016). Such attributes makes the patient feel that the nursing professionals are genuinely
interested for their health and well-being and that they can feel the pain and suffering that the
patients are going through. Such attributes of compassion and empathy make them feel that they
their well-being is thought about and that they are under master supervision (Sprangers et al.,
2015). Nurses need to ensuring empathy and compassion in their communication to connect with
patients and engage them in their own care making the patients feel empowered and safe in the
hospital environment.

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ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
Description of the second error and rationale for considering so:
Second error: Another communication issue that was noticed was the inappropriate body
posture exhibited by the nurse during communication.
Description: Another error that had been also identified in the video was that the professional
had not maintained an appropriate body posture while communicating with the patient.
Norouzinia et al (2016) opines that body posture is an important component of non-verbal
communication that can help in showing respect to the patient and thereby develop rapport with
the patients. This makes the patients overcome anxiety, fear and tension that remains associated
with the admission of the patients in new foreign healthcare environment. The professional in the
video exhibited an inappropriate body posture which was both impatient and fidgety. Every
healthcare professionals need to be calm, composed, friendly and relaxed in her approach as such
attributes have impacts on the patient and determines the development of perception about the
nurse in the patients (Williams et al., 2018). In the case study, it was seen that the professional
was hurrying through the discussion and did not at all gave scope to the patient to talk in details.
Impatient listening skill was noticed in the professional. This made the patient feel that the nurse
was not at all interested to understand what she wanted to say. His affected her self-esteem
making her to withdraw from the conversation. Tuohy (2019) is of the opinion that every nurses
need to be exhibit a body posture which is not only confident, caring and genuine in her
approach but calm, composed and caring and possess active listening skills. She was quickly
shifting from one activity to another in a hurried manner in place of being calm and composed in
her disposition. It is important for nurses to be following a consistent and caring tone of her
voice and interact with the patient through undivided attention and active listening skills
ensuring that the communication takes place both ways.

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ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
Description of the third error and rationale for considering so:
Third error: An issue had been identified where the professional had hurried into the room and
treated communicating with the patient even without knowing any details about the patient.
Description: She was extremely casual in her approach and communication style and even she
was found to summon the patient with a wrong name of Mandy. This is one of the most
unscrupulous move of the nurse which actually affected the dignity and autonomy of the patient
which affected her self-respect and self-esteem. Even after the patient corrected her name, then
also the nurse was found to summon her with a short form of the name. Furnes et al. (2018) is of
the opinion that communicating with the patient in such manner result in development of
disappointment and frustration in the patients, making them feel that the professionals are not
thorough about them while caring about them. Such casual approach of the nurse makes patients
feel that they are mistreated because they are powerless in front of the professionals. Entering the
room of the patient without being aware of the name of the patient reveals carelessness and lack
of seriousness among the nurse. Bas-Sarmiento et al. (2017) are of the opinion that nurses should
correctly know the name of the patient, her inhibitions and expectations, cultural traditions as
well as customs and others of the patient before treating them. Even when the information are
not recorded, the nurse should take the responsibility of expressing enough respect as well as
demonstration of the genuine concerns about the issues faced by the patient. This would make
the patients feel that she is safe in the presence of the nurse and this would enable them to
communicate in an unreserved manner as well as straightforwardly with the nurses.

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Description of the fourth error and rationale for considering so:
Fourth error: The fourth issue was that the nurse was entirely distractive and crossed
professional boundaries while communicating with the patient.
Description: The nursing professional who attended the patient was found to be entirely
distractive in the communication procedure and even sat on the bed of the patient which was
indeed an indecent approach. Even she was seen to take out her mobile phone and started reading
personal messages amidst the discussion with the patient. This was an inappropriate and
unprofessional means of communication where she basically crossed her boundaries. Her action
of expressing the contents of the message of her companions mainly affected the flow of the
communication that the patient wanted to initiate with the professionals. This action of the
professionals cut down their communication about the health concerns of the patient and shifted
the communication towards unimportant topic. This might make the patient feel that the nurse is
engrossed with her own personal worries and incidences and that she is not committed and
dedicated towards the patient. Studies are of the opinion that while communicating with patients,
it is important for the nursing professionals to give attention to the patient, the pain and
sufferings of the patients, her worries and well as concerns and this makes them develop trust
from the patient (Batch & Windsor, 2015). It was seen that when the patient asked the nurse to
wash her hands after touching her hair, the professionals arguably stated that whether she did not
kook clean. Such conversation can affect the patient making them feel that the nurse do not
respect and care for what the patient says. In this situation, in place of arguing with the patient, it
was important for the nursing professional to have apologized to the patient for such actions
supporting her view and making her feel that her suggestion was accepted. It is important for the

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nurses to avoid arguments as well as conflicts with the patient and communicate with patients in
respectable manner making them feel that they are cared about.

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ERRORS IN COMMUNICATION
References:
Bas-Sarmiento, P., Fernández-Gutiérrez, M., Baena-Baños, M., & Romero-Sánchez, J. M.
(2017). Efficacy of empathy training in nursing students: A quasi-experimental
study. Nurse education today, 59, 59-65.
Batch, M., & Windsor, C. (2015). Nursing casualization and communication: a critical
ethnography. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(4), 870-880.
Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in
healthcare: an integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 19, 36-40.
Sprangers, S., Dijkstra, K., & Romijn-Luijten, A. (2015). Communication skills training
in a nursing home: effects of a brief intervention on residents and nursing aides. Clinical
interventions in aging, 10, 311.
Norouzinia, R., Aghabarari, M., Shiri, M., Karimi, M., & Samami, E. (2016). Communication
barriers perceived by nurses and patients. Global journal of health science, 8(6), 65.
Williams, K. N., Perkhounkova, Y., Jao, Y. L., Bossen, A., Hein, M., Chung, S., ... & Turk, M.
(2018). Person-centered communication for nursing home residents with dementia: Four
communication analysis methods. Western journal of nursing research, 40(7), 1012-
1031.
Tuohy, D. (2019). Effective intercultural communication in nursing. Nursing Standard, 34(2),
45-50.

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Furnes, M., Kvaal, K. S., & Høye, S. (2018). Communication in mental health nursing-Bachelor
Students' appraisal of a blended learning training programme-an exploratory study. BMC
nursing, 17(1), 20.