Effective Communication, Self-Awareness in Health Professions Essay

This essay explores the critical role of effective communication for health professionals, highlighting the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication, cultural competence, and active listening in building therapeutic relationships with patients and minimizing medical errors. It emphasizes patient-centered care, shared decision-making, and the overall goal of promoting patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment. The essay also delves into the significance of self-awareness for healthcare professionals, including emotional intelligence and self-regulation, and suggests practices such as seeking feedback, reflection, and mindfulness to enhance self-awareness. The provided references support the discussion on culturally competent communication, active listening, and the impact of self-awareness on nurse-patient relationships.

Communication
for health
professionals

What is effective communication? Why is it important
for the health professionals?
Type of communication between the patient and the nurse
• Verbal communication (appropriate language, no medical jargon and culturally safe
language.
• Active listening, acknowledging patient’s attitude, use of open ended questions.
• Non-verbal communication (body gestures, eye contact)
Importance of communication among the health care professionals:-
• Less number of medical errors
• Development of a curative relationship between the patient and the nurse.
• Culturally safe care regimen
• Ensures patient involvement in the decision making process of the treatment.

What is the overall goal for
communication in the health
professions, and how is this goal
achieved?
• Patient centred care
• To promote satisfaction among the patients
• To persuade the patient to carry on with the treatment
• To ensure a therapeutic relationship with the patient.
The goal can be achieved by :-
• Maintaining appropriate verbal as well as non-verbal mode of communication.
• To seek consent from the patients
• Using clear ad non-medical term while communicating
•

My Own communication
strengths
Two of my own communication
strength that assists me to
carry out effective
communication with the
nurses are-
• Active listening
• Possess the ability to educate
patients and their families in
simple language without
using any medical jargon

Some of my communication strategies that needs
to be improved?
• Two of the communication
strategies that needs to be
improved are-
• The ability to develop confidence
while communicating with
someone in a higher hierarchical
position.
• To develop culturally competent
communication skills.

Development of self-awareness benefitting the
communication as a health professional
• Self-awareness means to know one’s own
thoughts and behaviours and how they can
affect others.
• A healthcare professional should be able to
determine and understand the emotions of
others and feel empathy for other people.
• Being self-aware of emotional intelligence.
• Self-regulation- Ability to control negative
feelings and being able to adapt to the
changes.

What practices will you engage in to continue
developing self-awareness throughout your
education and practice as a health
professional?
• Literature have identified a number of ways that can be used
for increasing self-awareness among the nurses. Some of the
ways are :-
• Seeking feedback from peers and seniors
• Reflection on one’s action
• Maintaining reflective journals.
• Practicing of meditation and mindfulness
• Consultation with a friend or a mentor

References
• Brown, O., Ten Ham-Baloyi, W., van Rooyen, D. R., Aldous, C., & Marais, L. C. (2016). Culturally competent patient-provider communication in
the management of cancer: An integrative literature review. Global health action, 9, 33208. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v9.33208
• Crawford, T., Candlin, S., & Roger, P. (2017). New perspectives on understanding cultural diversity in nurse–patient communication.
Collegian, 24(1), 63-69.
• Jahromi, V. K., Tabatabaee, S. S., Abdar, Z. E., & Rajabi, M. (2016). Active listening: The key of successful communication in hospital
managers. Electronic physician, 8(3), 2123–2128. https://doi.org/10.19082/2123
• Kourkouta, L., & Papathanasiou, I. V. (2014). Communication in nursing practice. Materia socio-medica, 26(1), 65–67.
https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2014.26.65-67
• Rasheed, S. P. (2015). Self-Awareness as a Therapeutic Tool for Nurse/Client Relationship. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 8(1).
• Sweeny, K., Shepperd, J. A., & Han, P. K. (2013). The goals of communicating bad news in health care: do physicians and patients agree?.
Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 16(3), 230–238.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1369-7625.2011.00709.x
• Trupkovic, A., Sajnic, A., Zovko, T., Vuger, K., & John, V. (2018). The role of a nurse active listening and counseling skills are imperative
orientation toward patient.
• Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., Hallaert, G., Van Daele, S., Buylaert, W., & Vogelaers, D.
(2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical
practice, 69(11), 1257–1267. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.12686