Reflective Essay: Importance of Communication in Healthcare Practice

This report reflects on the importance of effective communication in healthcare, specifically within the context of nursing practice. Utilizing the Gibbs reflective cycle, the author analyzes two distinct scenarios: a first-year experience involving a patient handover and a second-year experience with a patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The report details the author's feelings, evaluations, and analysis of each situation, highlighting the impact of communication on patient care and the nurse-patient relationship. The author identifies areas for improvement, particularly in balancing patient interaction with essential tasks and refining interpersonal communication skills. The report concludes with an action plan emphasizing the need for improved communication strategies to enhance patient outcomes and professional practice.

Importance of
communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
REFLECTION ON YEAR 1 ..........................................................................................................2
REFLECTION ON YEAR 2...........................................................................................................3
AREAS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT..................................................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Practice effectively is a chosen domain for this reflection essay and importance of
communication is the topic. This essay will follow Gibbs module of reflection because this
module is helpful in reflecting the incidents and situations in an effective manner whether they
are regular or occasionally. This model allows the individuals to learn from their previous
mistakes and correct them when they occur in near future. Gibbs’ Reflective cycle model is very
helpful in evaluating the various situations and occurrences. Through this model, reflection can
be used for improving the understanding of practice-based learning (Arnold and Boggs, 2015).
This model is also very useful for the nurses who are working in health care sector. This module
is a type of cycle or loop which contains six elements i.e. Description, Feelings, Evaluation,
Analysis, Conclusion, Action plan. Through these six elements, individuals can effectively
practice their code of conduct.
The domain of practice effectively is chosen because nurses are responsible for providing
the care and treatment to the patients. And they need to practice their working effectively so that
they can properly provide the necessary treatment to their patients. Through the practice, they
can learn new ways for treating their patients. They can improve their efficiency as well as
performance by learning from their past mistakes. They should ensure that the care they are
providing must met the standard procedures adopted by the hospitals and the medical
practitioners. The need for practising effectively is very high in the Health care sector for
minimising the negative impacts on the patients. If the people from health care won't practice in
their working, then it can leads to serious danger to the patient's health (Bassot, 2016).
The communication is also important for nurses in order to maintain a healthy patient-
nurse relationship. The nurses needs to communicate with their patients so that the patients can
share their issues and concerns with the nurse. The nurse are responsible for managing the
patients after the patients are diagnosed and operated by the doctor. They must needs to ensure
that the patients won't feel alone and depressed due to their disease (Garon, 2012). Nurses also
needs to ensure that the patients feel comfortable in their stay at hospital and they are not facing
any issues and problems related to their health and care. When nurses won't communicate with
the patients, then they can't gain the trust of their patients due to which their functioning can get
impacted. When patients get support from the nurses, then they can stay with comfort and even
can interact with the nurses regarding the suggestions and concerns associated with their
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treatment. The nurses needs to coordinate with every patients of their hospital for determining
the flaws in their treatment and to determine the problems of patients which arises during the
treatment.
REFLECTION ON YEAR 1
I was working with my mentor, I was doing handover of the patients to night staffs where
by lack of experience I omitted some vital information of patients which was very important. I
was able to handover which gave me confidence but at the same time I omitted some vital
information which was not good for my working performance. I got to know that one of the
patient is not happy with the stay in hospital and badly wanted to go her home. Our general
surgical team transferred her to general ward around night. So the lady was my last patients to
check the vitals. The issue was arise when I was working in that ward. I got involved in the
communication with the lady so much that I forgot to take some importance information
regarding the blood pressure and heart rate.
By implementing this situation in the Gibbs module, I can better evaluate the situation. In
the description phase, When trying to communicate regarding the issue, She was angry due to
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Illustration 1: Gibbs – reflective cycle model

delay in getting her vital report. After some time, a colleague came to me asking for the blood
pressure and heart rate of the patient.
In feelings phase, I felt very frustrated and rushed both at the same due to having several
work and this situation was distracting me from doing the work. The surgical team had already
told me to check for the vitals of the patients. Her blood pressure and heart rate is not normal
due to which she had the issues in breathing. I understand that this was difficult for her but I
didn't think that I could help her in the situation and still I was feeling very bad due to negligence
in my working. The night staff was also asking for clarification regarding the issue. I told the
whole incident to them about the sadness of lady and in order to make her feel better, I got
involved in conversation due to which I forgot to take her vitals.
In Evaluation phase, Our ward was rushing due to having workload. Due to this, my
explanation was limited in order to tell her that we are waiting for the blood pressure and heart
rate vitals which I forgot to take. Me and the night staff interacted with each other and took the
decision to check for her vitals again as well as to tell the case to her. When told about the case,
she was angry upon the staff of hospital for such negligence.
In analysis phase, The patient looks like happy because of my explanation but still I
didn't know how much time she had to wait for checking the vitals again. The night staff comes
after some time and took the vitals test. I think that I can satisfy her some more by answering
some more questions which needs to be addressed before sending her home.
In conclusion, I can say that my working performance is bad due to getting involved in
the conversations and forgot the work which I have to do. I can further address some questions to
her and try to avoid such things in future. Through this addressing, her time can be saved and the
formalities can be done while waiting for blood pressure and heart rate vitals report.
In action plan, in order to prevent such situation in near future, I needs to discuss with the
other health care professionals on the ward and of late night shift for avoiding such situations in
future. If such cases happens, then management needs to ensure the time which will be
consumed for gathering the vitals information in such situations. By determining the time, I can
address such issues and concerns of the patients in the earliest manner.
REFLECTION ON YEAR 2
My reflection for year 2 is also regarding the handover of patients. Through the first year
experience, I get to know the important steps of handing over the patients. Similar situation arise
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in year two, where a French patient came to our hospital due to having pancreas cancer. I was
again handing over the patients to nigh staff when I saw him. He was alone and sad due to
having cancer. The patient name was Robert who was around 64 years old and diagnosed with
the cancer in the pancreas. This incident took place when I was handing over the patients to night
staff in surgical ward.
This situation can also be evaluated in better manner using the Gibbs module. In the
description phase, I get to know that Mr Robert is diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the
pancreas with a life expectancy of 18-24 months. He was not able to control his pain but her pain
can be lowered using chemotherapy. He knows that there is no cure for his disease and he also
has mobility problems due to which he needs assistance in moving or standing. When I was
checking him, I offered him some tea and sit aside with him as he was alone and sad.
In feelings, I think that the man was lonely and he needed support from other people. I go
near him and drink the tea together. First I use the systematic nursing process and introduce my
self and ass for taking the necessary tests which are essential for the chemotherapy. Through this
approach, I can provide better treatment and support to him. After following the standard
procedure of taking tests, I took the vitals and other important information. Then I started talking
to him so that he won't feel alone. The night staff came quickly when they get to know that I am
again involved in conversations with the patients during the working. When the night staff
arrives, I gave them the vitals report and told that I started talking after my work. I also continue
to maintain eye contact to him so that he will not feel embarrassed.
In evaluation phase, I think by having the same experience of first year, I was able to
control the situation effectively without making any error. The systematic nursing process, I was
able to handover patients very effectively without missing any key information. From the last
experience, I have gained skills and knowledge which are useful for me to tackle such situations
in a proper way. I think that I treated him with empathy due to the his mobility problems in
performing several tasks and also he is refusing to take treatment of chemotherapy. It is my
sincere duty to provide comfort and support to the patients for effectively practising my
profession along with the proper efficiency in my working.
In analysis, My aim was to evaluate the necessary skills required for handing the Mr
Robert and to provide him the care he needed. While communicating with him and my night
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staff, I used interpersonal communication. I can also use the other approach in his case in which
first I can do conversation with him and then take the vitals report accordingly his comfort level.
In conclusion, I notice that by reflecting upon this incident, I think that the systematic
nursing process has some limitations which states that the communication needs to be done after
working. Wherever, my approach states that communication is helpful in working of nurses and
with effective communication, patients can support the nurses in treatment.
In action plan, I prepared a plan for providing assistance to such people in future by
communicating with them effectively using the systematic nursing process. As a nurse, my role
is to maintain the patient-nurse relationship with suitable care. I also need to communicate
effectively with the patients in various situation and incidents according to their needs.
AREAS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
There are several areas in which improvement is needed for effectively providing the
services to the patients in the health and social care sector. First area for development and
improvement is the communication. While doing the handover of the patients to night staff, I
forget to take the vitals information of a patient due to involving in the conversation with her. I
need to remember that my working must be perfect and such negligence can be proved
dangerous for the patients and also for my career. I also need to work on my interpersonal
communication skills for effectively communicating with the patients in determining their issues
and concerns related to their treatment. Also I needs to improve my non verbal and verbal
communication through which I can able to provide clear understanding of the situation to the
patients. Also I need to improve my habit of involving very much in the conversations with
patients. I get involved so much that sometimes I forgot to take their vitals report. This habit can
be proved painful and dangerous for the patients. When I get to know about the disability of a
person or patient, I can prepare a plan for proper course of action in order to decide the suitable
and effective treatment to the patients. One more field which needs improvements is the active
learning. This can assist me in determining the existing barriers of communication which are
restricting me in communicating effectively. Active learning refer to the listening without taking
decisions. I try to listen to the patients and their opinions in order to see the perspective of the
patients. But English is my mother tongue, so I also face problems in communication with
patients of other languages. I needs to engage in meaningful and relevant communication for
developing the effective communication skills not in interesting content. Also I needs to engage
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in the reflection process for utilising the communication skills and my working in practise.
Reflection is helpful in gaining a deeper insight on my personal strengths and weaknesses and to
address such areas of concern for improving in future activities.
In the situation of patients handover, my communication skills was lacking due to which
I was not able to convey the reason to patients regarding the handover. I needs to ensure that
such time errors won't occur in future. These errors or delays can lead to dissatisfaction among
the employees and patients due to which the image of the hospital can get effected. As a nurse, I
needs to maintain proper relationship with the patients and must provide them support and
motivation when they feel bad or low. I must ensure that the patients can convey their problems
and issues to me or other staff which can be done only by creating mutual respect and trust
among the patients and nurse.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussed reflection essay, it can be concluded that reflective report is
beneficial for getting the better outcomes in future by using past experiences. People can even
learn from their mistakes and can eliminate the chances of repeating the mistakes in near future.
Also the communication is a very important aspect of nurses for effectively performing their
work and role in the hospital as well as at workplace. The interpersonal, verbal and non verbal
communication is very important for the nurse to effectively communicate with the patients in
order to determine their concerns and issues. The Gibbs’ Reflective cycle model is used for
evaluating the various situations and occurrences happens at the workplace. Through this model,
reflection can be used for improving the understanding of practice-based learning. This model is
also very useful for the nurses who are working in health care sector. This model is based on six
elements through which the evaluation is done. These six elements are important for me in
evaluating the problems and situations which occurs at the workplace. These six elements are
Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion and Action plan. These elements are
analysed one by one for getting the overall idea of the situations.
Apart from that, Poor communication can even leads to death of the patients. In case of
handover of the patients to night shift, negligence is the major problem which restricted me in
performing my work in a proper manner. This problem was arise due to my weak
communication skills in French language. The lady belong to France and as my French is not
good, I was not comfortable with the talking. Due to this, I feels bad and tried hard to
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communicate with her. As she was communicating very politely and conveying interesting
things, I got involved and forgot my work. Nurses who shows kindness, support and trust
towards the patients through their actions and language are successful in managing their rapport
and maintaining healthy relationship with their patients. Such nurses are open hearted who truly
listens the patients issues and provide them suitable support and guidance so that the patients
feels good. Whereas, nurses who got involved very much in conversations are not much
successful in their working.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arnold, E.C. and Boggs, K.U., 2015. Interpersonal Relationships-E-Book: Professional
Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bassot, B., 2016. The reflective journal. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Garon, M., 2012. Speaking up, being heard: registered nurses’ perceptions of workplace
communication. Journal of Nursing Management. 20(3). pp.361-371.
Howatson-Jones, L., 2016. Reflective practice in nursing. Learning Matters.
Lancaster, G. and et. al., 2015. Interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among
physicians, nurses, and unlicensed assistive personnel. Journal of Nursing Scholarship.
47(3). pp.275-284.
Liu, W., Manias, E. and Gerdtz, M., 2012. Medication communication between nurses and
patients during nursing handovers on medical wards: a critical ethnographic study.
International journal of nursing studies. 49(8). pp.941-952.
Matziou, V. and et. al., 2014. Physician and nursing perceptions concerning interprofessional
communication and collaboration. Journal of interprofessional care. 28(6). pp.526-533.
Online
Gibbs – reflective cycle model. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<http://resources.eln.io/gibbs-reflective-cycle-model-1988/>
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