Reflection on Communication in Healthcare: Gibbs Reflective Cycle

This assignment reflects on the importance of effective communication in healthcare using the Gibbs reflective cycle. It discusses the experiences of the author during their placement in a healthcare center and analyzes how reflection helped in understanding the facilitators and inhibitors of effective relationships at the workplace.

Running head: REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
Introduction:
Reflective practice is considered as a way of studying one’s own experiences for
improvement in his or her profession. Researchers are of the opinion that the act of reflection
helps in increasing the confidence of the healthcare professionals and thereby makes them
proactive and qualified professionals (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). It can be stated as the procedure
by which healthcare professionals can make sense of the different events as well as situations
and actions in the workplace. It helps in developing the skills and reviewing their effectiveness to
gradually develop expertise and ensure safe and quality care to the patients (Weller, Boyd &
Cumin, 2014). In this assignment, I would be using the Gibbs reflective cycle to reflect on one of
the most important topic of healthcare that is professional communication. I would be mainly
discussing about the experiences that I had during the time of my placement in a healthcare
centre and thereby analyze how this reflection helped me in understanding the main facilitators
and inhibitors of development of effective relationship at workplace.
Description:
During the time of my placement, I had to work with a nurse leader in a group of five
members who like me were also on placements. She allocated us with a task to be completed
within a specific deadline. She called us to her room and allocated the task to each of us, and
asked us to complete our own individual parts. We wanted to come up with our suggestions but
she did not allow us to peak up as she thought it would result in wasting of time. She also
thought that we would make one or the other excuses for the task allocated to us. The next day
we were to go on a visit to the different wards in order to learn about the procedures by which
healthcare professionals conduct intravenous channels for medication administration. While

2
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
interacting with one of the patient, I realized that he is quite old and has memory impairment. It
was a very busy shift and having less time to make him understand and remember him the cause
of the injection that was to be pushed, I thought of not making him understand the cause of the
injection administration I thought that the patient would forget anyhow and therefore, it would
lead to wastage of time. Moreover, I am quite an impatient listener and so when another of an
elder patient was discussing her meal plan, I did not provide importance to her words and left the
room instructing a healthcare aid to provide her a non-veg meal free of carbohydrates. It was a
mistake on my part, as I did not hear that she was allergic to lettuce and cabbage. This created
negative outcomes on her health resulting her to suffer more. When I came back to the room, I
saw that none of the nurses who were working in my team wanted to work with the team leader
and complained to the mentor to change their leader. I also got a complaint on my name where
the patient I handled before had complained that I did not take his consent and I did not make
him understand why the injection was given.
Feeling:
Initially I was quite excited as I got the opportunity to work with different members of
the healthcare team and thereby understand how multidisciplinary team works. Moreover, I was
also excited as I could get the scope to interact with patients and treat them in real life situations.
However, the experiences that I had during the first few days of my placements were not as
positive as I had thought. Due to lack of certain aspects of professional nursing and
communication, I failed to provide the safe and quality care to the patients. The patient's
complaint about me to the complaint department made me very embarrassed in front of not only
my mentor as well as my colleagues. Moreover, I was also very depressed, as I could not provide
the best evidence best quality and safe care to the patients, which each of the service users expect

3
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
from the healthcare professionals. I exposed them at potential risk of negative health outcomes. I
was also upset and disappointed about the fact that team could not work well because of the
autocratic nature of the leader. She was neither communicating with us nor allowing our
suggestions. The members were irritated and did not want to collaborate and coordinate with her.
This made me lose my confidence about my communication skills and self-respect. However, I
did not allow myself to withdraw from such crucial situation and I wanted to learn from this
experience for the future.
Evaluation:
The bad part of the experience was that two of the service users had to go through
negative experiences during their stay at the healthcare centre. They were not satisfied with the
service delivered in the healthcare centre and this made them as well as their family members
upset. This also affected the reputation of the hospital, as it could not provide the best quality and
safe care to the patients (O’hagan et al., 204). The morale of the first patient was affected as he
felt his dignity and autonomy of was not respected. Such behavior could have made him non-
compliant where he could not have taken any more service from the healthcare centre. He got
depressed and this in turn might have affected his health in a negative way. The patient could not
get the empathetic and compassionate care from me that he had expected. Moreover, I also
noticed that the leader failed to manage a team because her communication skills were improper
and this affected the morale of the members who were working with her. These disrupted the
normal flow of work. The only good part was that all these experiences taught me that my
communication skills are poor and hence helped me realize the aspects on which I have to work.
I also understood the importance of effective communication skills for a leader.

4
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
Analysis:
Communication is an important aspect of healthcare as it not only ensures safe and
quality care of the patient but also ensures smooth flow of work in the healthcare departments
(Levitt-Jones & bourgeois, 2011). Researchers are of the opinion that informed consent is an
important part where professionals need to explain in details about the disorder to the patient, the
interventions to be given and the positive and negative outcomes of the patient (Dellany &
Molloy, 2009). However, I failed to communicate all such information to the patient. When
nursing professionals communicate all the information to the patients regarding their benefits and
negative outcomes and accordingly seek consent from the persons regarding their interventions,
patients seen to feel empowered (Oetzel, 2017). When they feel that they are at the centre of
decision-making, they feel confident and their self-respect is boosted. This in turn helps in
development of therapeutic relationship with the patient as the patient feel that his autonomy and
dignity is respected. As I failed to communicate with him empathetically and compassionately he
felt uncared and his dignity was affected. Researchers are of the opinion that such patient might
feel depressed which might have negative outcomes on their health. They might also become
non-compliant with the professionals creating barrier in effect service delivery. Therefore, I
failed here, as I could not understand the importance of effective communication in such crucial
situations. In another instance, I realized that I have impatient listening skill for which I cut
people in the middle when others are talking. A similar incident with the patient took place
where I did not listen to her entirely and this resulted in allergic reaction to the patient. Impatient
listening results in many negative outcomes. It not only affects the morale and self-respect of the
listener but also makes them feel that they are not loved, respected or cared (Rogers, 2015).

5
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
Moreover, impatient listening also results in missing many important data and information that
might have negative outcomes. Therefore, health of the patient was affected and she felt
neglected and disrespected. This affected patient satisfaction. Another important area is feedback
exchange skills that are important for carrying on effective communication. While interacting
with the teammate, I realized that the leader did not motivate the members to express their
concerns as well as suggestions. She neither provided them advices and instructions nor allowed
any suggestion and queries from them. Therefore, this affected their morale and made them feel
that the organization did not care for them and their dedication. This made them to withdraw and
this affected the teamwork and productivity.
Conclusion:
When such situations would occur in the future, I would be very careful about the way I
interact with people and the immediate decisions that I take during such interactions. When a
patient would be discussing any important information with me, I would be always patient and
listen completely to what he is saying to me with proper eye contact and effective body
language. I would let the patient complete his entire concerns, enquiry and then only I will
proceed with my version of the interaction. I should never stop them in between as it might make
them feel disrespected, and it might result in improper care and practices. Moreover, also while
providing informed consent, I would communicate with the patient in an empathetic and
compassionate manner. I would be discussing the interventions along with its advantages and
disadvantages in a way that helps them to understand. While working with the team members of
a multidisciplinary team, I would always encourage an open and transparent working
environment within the team. Here all the members should get the scope of expressing their

6
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
suggestions, ideas and concerns and achieve constructive feedback from their colleague as well
as from the leader.
Action plan:
I need to develop my knowledge about how to communicate effectively with patients as well as
with the team members. This is to be done so that I can maintain not only professional approach
but also enable a smooth workflow without creation of any conflicts and negative feelings about
each other. Therefore, I would be joining a workshop class on the weekends, where the guide
would be helping me to develop my communication skills - both verbal and nonverbal. He would
be identifying attributes that I lack for effective communication and accordingly train me to
develop the skills. Moreover, I should also go through several evidence-based studies from my
digital library where I would be getting ideas about how to undertake effective communication
with patients and team members. This would help to ensure development of professional
relationships without creating any conflict and negative feelings. I would be also interviewing
stalwart leaders in healthcare whose experience may also help me develop myself as future
leaders in my profession.

7
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION
References:
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal Relationships-E-Book: Professional
Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Delany, C., & Molloy, E. (2009). Clinical education in health professions. Sydney:
Churchill-Livingstone/Elsevier; 2009. (Chapter 1)
Levitt-Jones, T., & Bourgeois, S. (2011). The clinical placement: an essential guide for
nursing students. (2nd ed.). Sydney: Elsevier Churchill
Livingstone.
Oetzel, J. G. (2017). Effective intercultural workgroup communication theory. The
International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication, 1-5.
O'hagan, S., Manias, E., Elder, C., Pill, J., Woodward‐Kron, R., McNamara, T., ... & McColl,
G. (2014). What counts as effective communication in nursing? Evidence from nurse
educators' and clinicians' feedback on nurse interactions with simulated
patients. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(6), 1344-1355.
Rogers, C. (2015). Communication. Nursing Standard (2014+), 30(8), 55.
Weller, J., Boyd, M., & Cumin, D. (2014). Teams, tribes and patient safety: overcoming
barriers to effective teamwork in healthcare. Postgraduate medical journal, 90(1061),
149-154.

8
REFLECTION ON COMMUNICATION