Healthcare Communication Report: Communication Skills in Healthcare

This report examines healthcare communication within a health and social care context, focusing on the author's personal experiences and professional development. The author discusses challenges such as language barriers and cultural differences encountered while communicating with diverse patient populations. The report highlights strategies employed to overcome these challenges, including the use of interpreters and adapting communication methods for patients with disabilities. The author reflects on the positive impact of effective interpersonal communication, including listening skills, information-giving, and the use of open questions. Additionally, the report addresses the development of group communication skills through a certificate course, showcasing improved interactions in meetings and a more constructive approach to teamwork. The author emphasizes the importance of ongoing skill enhancement through continued experience.

1Running head: HEALTHCARE
Healthcare
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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HEALTHCARE
Communication is an integral part of health and social care sector, and this concept
makes up an important part of the curriculum for healthcare students. The repeated emphasis
on exhibiting effective communication skills has to be well understood by students for
achieving professional and personal development. In this paper, I would bring into focus my
personal experience of communication in health and social care context. In addition, I would
also reflect on my personal development on the basis of lessons learnt from personal
experiences.
For me, the greatest challenge in engaging in an effective communication within the
care setting has been language barriers and cultural differences. Throughout my five years of
experience as a care worker, I have faced different issues while communicating with patients
from other ethnic and cultural background. UK is a multicultural country and individuals
from diverse ethnic groups are to be cared for in different health and social care settings. I
understood that if my organisation produces and displays health information in English
language solely, care workers would not be able to reach out to the broader group of patients
and care process would be restricted. Further, people might interpret non-verbal behaviour in
inappropriate manner, thereby leading to misunderstandings. For ensuring that every patient
is able to access best possible care services I ensured that an interpreter's help is taken for
communicating with the concerned service user.
Working with patients with hearing and speaking disabilities was also a key challenge
for me. I acknowledged the fact that care workers must understand the communication
preferences this section of the service user for avoiding communication problems. The best
way through which I could respond to such situations was to use the preferred language of the
person and adapt my communication strategies to make it aligned with the needs of the
service users.

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HEALTHCARE
Feedback from my seniors and peers had pointed out that my interpersonal
communication skills had been praiseworthy and useful for one-on-one communication. My
listening skills, information giving skills and questioning skills had been appreciated the time
and again. I have always focused on using open questions for patient assessment so that
patients can give proper responses. Further, I have focused on giving respect to the patient
and showing empathy and affection. This helped me in establishing a strong bond with the
patients, thereby influencing care delivery in a positive manner. One-on-one communication
skills were useful for engaging in basic interactions with the patients and maintaining
supportive relationships with colleagues.
I would also like to point out that I lacked proper communication skills to
communicate in groups at early stages of my professional practice. As a result, I faced issues
in putting forward my opinions and viewpoints in meetings and case conferences.
Understanding the need of building up this skill, I completed a certificate course in
communication skills for care professionals from a reputed institution. At the end of the
course, I am better able to interact in group situations that are important for my intellectual
development. At present, I am able to make clear verbal communications in group meetings
and respond positively under different situations. Further, I have a constructive and positive
approach to team members. I believe I can enhance my communication skills with further
experiences.