Reflective Account: Communication Challenges in Healthcare Setting

This report presents a reflective account of communication challenges encountered by an NHS Assistant Practitioner. The account details an incident involving a language barrier with a patient, highlighting the difficulties in understanding and providing appropriate care. The report utilizes the Driscoll model (What? So What? Now What?) to analyze the situation, explore the impact of communication gaps on patient care and the practitioner's role, and propose solutions such as learning different languages and seeking language translation support. It emphasizes the importance of effective communication in healthcare settings, the impact of these challenges on both patients and practitioners, and offers insights into how to improve communication skills for better patient outcomes and professional growth. The reflection also mentions the relevance of apprenticeship standards and the impact of communication issues on brand image and service quality. The report concludes with a discussion of the importance of continuous learning and the acquisition of language skills to overcome communication barriers.

Reflective Account

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
WHAT .............................................................................................................................................2
SO WHAT ......................................................................................................................................2
NOW WHAT...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Communication is the process through which ideas, feelings, thoughts can be shared with
one another. This is the way through which two way communication is possible and it is easy to
know what has to be done. While operating in organisation, there is requirement of share and
communicate with other individuals to perform business operations in better and effective
manner. This reflection is based on NHS where I works as Assistant Practitioner Apprenticeship.
In this reflection, there is discussion about role of communication, apprenticeship standards,
Driscoll model of reflection (Curran, Drust and Richardson, 2014).
Being assistant practitioner at NHS I have to communicate with different departments
related to query and issue of patient. I have to work with patients suffering from catheterisation,
discharge related formality, etc. Apart from this I have to work for areas such as Cancer,
Physiotherapy, Orthopaedics, Mental care, etc. There are some changes such as long term
disability in which I have to deal with patients in pleasant and calm manner. There are some
standards which I have to accomplish to perform job roles and responsibilities in proper and
appropriate manner. For apprenticeship practitioner there are some standards which I have to
abide such as honest, compassionate, committed, etc. So I have to interact with consumers and
various departments at NHS to complete job role effectively and to understand it and complete
task. Hence I feel like proper communication is crucial to get work done in better and effective
manner (Gao, 2013). Communication is the skill through which I can understand others and
make them clear about my point of view. With the help of communication I can transfer complex
sensitive information to concern departments and relative of patients. So I must know about
accurate verbal and written skills and accurate record keeping related to confidential data.
In order to understand this reflection, there is discussion about Driscoll Model. This the
model which was developed by John Driscoll in 2007 having three questions i.e. what, so what
and now what. With this cycle of reflection, I am able to understand changes which are specific
and relevant in context of understanding what is the issue, how to resolve and benefits with this
resolving such issue. So there is discussion about communication, issue in communication, ways
to resolve communication issue and what will be benefits of resolving communication issue.
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WHAT
While working as Assistant Practitioner, I face an incident related to improper
communication. Once while working at NHS, there was a patient suffering from some issue in
throat. There are many patient visit hospitals because of their different issues. There are many
consumers from different geographical region, cultural, language, background, etc. While
working as apprenticeship practitioner I have to communicate with patients regarding their issues
and understand their problems which they are facing. Once there was an Nigerian patient who
was suffering from throat infection from long time. I was not able to understand what he wants to
say because he don't know English properly and I am not able to speak Nigeria language. This
issue arise because of lack of knowledge about language. While at work place I have to
communicate about major issue related to health to consumers considering their emotions and
cultural values (Hayden and Chiu, 2015).
As per this case I am not able to understand how make an link between us to understand
each other views and provide them proper medication. In this case I face issue in communicating
and not able to get pathway to communicate with him. There was a colleague who was basically
from South Africa. He is able to understand Nigerian language little bit. In order to deal with this
patient I have take help from him but he is not able to understand this idea properly and in
appropriate manner (Zeichner and Liston, 2013).
SO WHAT
I face issue in communicating with because some times that employee is not free and
patient has to wait or come at next round. I am not able to feel comfortable while communicating
with that patient and sometimes I feel that my colleague is rude to patient which is unethical
according to apprenticeship standards. Patient get well but this takes long time because of
communication gap. I am not able to console patient and feel bad for him while he have to wait.
In this scenario, key issue is communication gap which arise because of language barrier. There
is waste of time of three of us (Mura, 2015). There is no familiar relations among me and him
because we did not communicate effectively. Issue in current scenario is directly related to my
communication skill because at health and care sector, doctor can provide treatment to patient
when they are able to understand views and thoughts of one another. But as per this above
discussed case scenario, I am not able to communicate with patient which is not effective for
understanding and making familiar relations.
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With contacting through other colleague, this show ineffective services offered NHS
which gives negative image in mind of consumers (Unevik, Wickford and Melander Wikman,
2012). There is negative impact of brand image of NHS because communication can be of
different types i.e. verbal, non verbal which is not relevant in current market. I feel bad when
colleague does not listen whole conversation and he is making things on his own behave. In this
case scenario, I feel hat there are possibilities that this issue might face others also band patient s
are not able to get appropriate treatment through provided by NHS. I give my best to cure patient
and to analyse what are their need. In case of making changes actions in better and effective
manner through considering apprenticeship standard (Nicol and Dosser, 2016). I face issue
related to communication due to which I am not able to communicate with patient and provide
them best services which is specific in context of patient's need.
NOW WHAT
In order to deal with this situation, I take help of other employees who works as language
translator for us. But this is not the appropriate and relevant method to deal with communication
barriers. There are possibilities that due to communication barriers, things may get wrong
communicated. In health and social care, there are possibilities that due to miscommunication,
disease get wrongly communicated or mismanagement of medical reports, etc. This affects brand
image of NHS and I may also get fired from job because of lack of knowledge and effectiveness
at workplace. As assistant practitioner, I have to work with understanding and making familiar
relations with patient to know their issues (Roddy and Dewar, 2016).
I will manage this issue by learning different languages. For Assistant practitioner, there
is requirement to learn different languages through which I can communicate with patients.
When I speak in their regional language then there must be familiar relation among us and they
also feel comfortable to share their issues. I am able to communicate them about actual health
issues. Hence my future need is to learn different languages such as Nigerian, Hindi, French,
Germany, etc. This makes me updated and perform actions as per change in working
effectiveness with providing satisfactory services. My area of improvement is to improve
knowledge about learning. This makes me updated and I can represent myself with more
confidence. This assist me in my career as well. With learning different languages I not only get
success at work place but get up to date knowledge about them (Schneider and McGrew, 2012).
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This gives proper satisfaction to consumers because employees is able to share their problems
easily.
Apart from this I can ask management of NHS to enhance knowledge about language
through training. Learning different knowledge is effective and relevant in context to academic
and non academic skills which help me to enhance my career pathway. Language can be
improved with the help of online classes, seminars, conferences, etc. There are some certification
courses through which individual is certified and get more growth opportunities in career and at
job place (Schoenborn and et. al., 2013).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it is clear that for assistant practitioner, there is crucial role of
communication skills because they have communicate with patients, their relatives and with
various departments. As per above case, there is problem related to language so I am not able to
communicate with client and resolve health issue properly. Hence to improve and reduce
language barrier I will learn different language and improve way to communicate with patients
through online classes, certification course for language perfection. Learning program can be
done while working at NHS and this program can be mandatory for all the workers at
organisation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Curran, K., Drust, B. and Richardson, D., 2014. ‘I just want to watch the match’: a practitioner’s
reflective account of men’s health themed match day events at an English Premier
League football club. Soccer & Society. 15(6). pp.919-933.
Gao, X., 2013. Reflexive and reflective thinking: a crucial link between agency and
autonomy. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. 7(3). pp.226-237.
Hayden, H .E. and Chiu, M. M., 2015. Reflective teaching via a problem exploration–teaching
adaptations–resolution cycle: A mixed methods study of preservice teachers’ reflective
notes. Journal of Mixed Methods Research. 9(2). pp.133-153.
Mura, P., 2015. ‘To participate or not to participate?’A reflective account. Current Issues in
Tourism. 18(1). pp.83-98.
Nicol, J. S. and Dosser, I., 2016. Understanding reflective practice. Nursing Standard
(2014+). 30(36). p.34.
Roddy, E. and Dewar, B., 2016. A reflective account on becoming reflexive: the 7 Cs of caring
conversations as a framework for reflexive questioning. International Practice
Development Journal. 6(1).
Schneider, W. J. and McGrew, K. S., 2012. The Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of intelligence.
Schoenborn, P. and et. al., 2013. Challenges of ‘Students as Producers’ in Web 2.0: a reflective
account. Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology, pp.5-20.
Unevik, E., Wickford, J. and Melander Wikman, A., 2012. From curiosity to appreciating and re-
evaluating cultural diversity in physiotherapy. A self-reflective account of experiences
and reactions as a Swedish physiotherapy student in India. Reflective Practice. 13(5).
pp.663-677.
Zeichner, K. M. and Liston, D. P., 2013. Reflective teaching: An introduction. Routledge.
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