Nurses’ and Patients’ Communication and Interactions: A Report

This report analyzes the importance of effective communication and interaction between nurses and patients in healthcare settings. It highlights the impact of therapeutic communication on patient compliance and satisfaction. The report delves into two key models: Carl Roger's Person-Centered Model, emphasizing congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard, and the Brief, Ordinary, Effective Model, focusing on brief, simple interactions that significantly impact patients. The report explains how these models can be applied to improve nursing practice, encouraging nurses to actively listen, use non-stigmatizing language, and employ silence and humor to enhance patient interactions and overall well-being. The report also includes references to support the information provided.

NURSES’ AND PATIENTS’ COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS 1
NURSES’ AND PATIENTS’ COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS
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Nurses’ and Patients’ Communication and Interactions
Effective communication and interaction between a nurse and the patient is important in
healthcare. It is often linked to desirable outcomes associated with patient compliance with
medical advice and patient satisfaction. For this to be achieved, nurses need to understand and
assist their patients while demonstrating kindness, courtesy and sincerity. They are also expected
to devote some time to interact and communicate with their patients and meet patients’
communication needs. In mental health, therapeutic communication enables practitioners to
establish good relations with their clients, to identify patients’ worries and needs and determine
their perceptions (Silverman, Kurtz and Draper 2016).
Carl Roger’s Person-Centered Model
This model uses an approach that considers the individual clients as subjects of their own
therapy. According to Roger, a person is endowed with the strength of self-actualization upon
using this model. With this personal perception of the power they hold, they can provide a
solution for difficult conditions facing them as long as there is an enabling external environment.
A conducive atmosphere is created by smooth interactions and communication between
practitioners and patients. This implies that each individual has the tendency to develop and
reach a particular level of actualization. A conducive and facilitating environment is required to
have a person assess their self-defeating characters and level of wisdom they possess as well as
having an effective interaction with the therapist. For this to be a success, Rogers identifies three
conditions: Congruence, Empathy and Unconditional Positive Regard (Bach and Grant 2015).
Congruence

NURSES’ AND PATIENTS’ COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS 3
According to Rogers, a therapist ought to have a genuine attitude towards a client’s
thoughts and feelings and should be willing to help under all circumstances. They are expected to
be always transparent and never to hold the idea that they are superior to their clients. In my own
opinion, such an attitude raises a high level of confidence and self-esteem in a patient’s judgment
of self. Consequently, a trusting relationship with the therapist is fostered. Disregarding this
would only render the interaction process ineffective (Rogers 2013).
Unconditional Positive Regard
In his theory, Rogers said that the therapist should always be non-judgmental and have
complete acceptance of the client’s feelings and perception of the world. This should be devoid
of whatever differences that could be existing between them socially or culturally. It requires a
health practitioner to have unconditional acceptance of a client’s values, behaviors and desires
and experience them regardless of their crimes, flaws and moral disparities (McCabe and
Timmins 2013).
Empathy
This refers to the ability of a therapist to have some positive sensitivity and appreciation
towards a client’s world, their perception of recovery and communicating their feelings to the
client. This helps in conveying a special meaning of their relationship to the client and eventually
strengthening their relationship towards a therapeutic movement.A nurse can apply this model by
actively listening to a client through all forms of bodily, verbal and non-verbal communications
(Bryan,Lindo, Anderson-Johnson and Weaver 2015).
Brief, Ordinary, Effective Model by Crawford, Brown and Boham.

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This model utilizes an approach that makes any form of brief communication that appears
small externally mean so much more in the inside. Brief interactions such as a smile, a few
words or a mere greeting may have a great impact on the subjective being. The well-being of the
client is enhanced by relatively common and simple communicative actions. The model suggests
that a healthcare provider should focus on brief, ordinary and effective forms of
communications.A typical healthcare setting is often constrained by time but brief
communication entails the use of whatever time one has to make communication and interaction
effective. Brief form of communications could entail nodding, positive body language, small
talk, smiling, gestures and friendly eye contact. For every interaction, however minimal, it
creates a bigger psychological effect on a person. Such interactions give patients an opportunity
to feel included and this results in a warm approach (Crawford, Brown, Kvangarsnesand Gilbert
2014).
The ordinary forms of communication create, maintain and eliminate therapeutic
relations with clients, terminate misunderstandings brought about by jargon and promote quality
in interaction. A sense of familiarity and ordinariness makes a patient’s surroundings in a
healthcare facility to be homelier. For instance, the use of colloquial language by a nurse shows
the patient that they too are human, an aspect that patients regard highly. A nurse using
pragmatic and generic communication presents such an environment without posing any threat to
a patient. They should display human qualities frequently while interacting with a patient such as
touch and active listening. Further, the effective forms result into delivering accurate advice or
information, favorable outcomes from patient satisfaction and build constructive interactions
(Dryden and Mytton 2016).

NURSES’ AND PATIENTS’ COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS 5
This model can help impact core skills in nurses and shape their interaction with patients.
For instance, a nurse can initiate and sustain a shared, polite conversation while observing turn-
taking and utilization of verbal and non-verbal cues such as hand gestures, nodding and phrases
like, “I see”. A nurse is also able to use language that is non-stigmatizing and can refrain from
the use of descriptions or labels that belittle or alienate patients. Instead, they are able to use self-
respecting and dignified language. Additionally, they can demonstrate the proper use of silence
for instance in expressing feelings, reflecting, showing empathy, encouraging a response or
conveying interest. Lastly, a nurse can use humorous talk to reduce stress, relax the patient, boost
morale, heighten interaction or create a responsive, open social environment (Crawford, Bonham
and Brown 2013).
In summary, person centered therapy identifies that each individual has a natural human
inclination towards self-actualization. The theory views every person as to having a capacity and
desire to change and grow. It encourages practitioners to convey empathy and unconditional
positive regard to patients in a manner that does not perceive them as flawed with problematic
characters. The brief, ordinary effective model focuses on making simple interactions and
contact with patients even when limited by time constraints. It calls for ordinariness and
familiarity as a form of communication that patients prefer since it makes nurses seem more
human. Finally, effectiveness of communications is highlighted on outcomes seen in the level of
patient satisfaction.

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Reference List
Bach, S. and Grant, A., 2015. Communication and interpersonal skills in nursing. Learning
matters.
Bryan, V.D., Lindo, J., Anderson-Johnson, P, and Weaver, S., 2015. Using Carl Rogers’ Person-
Centered Model to Explain Interpersonal; Relationships at a School of Nursing. Journal of
Professional Nursing, 31(2), pp. 141-148.
Crawford, P., Bonham, P. and Brown, B., 2013. Brief, ordinary and effective (BOE): A new
model for health care communication. Communication in clinical settings. Nelson Thornes.
Crawford, P., Brown, B., Kvangarsnes, M. and Gilbert, P., 2014. The design of compassionate
care. Journal of clinical nursing, 23(23-24), pp. 3589-3599.
Dryden, W. and Mytton, J., 2016. Four approaches to counselling and psychotherapy.
Routledge.
McCabe, C. and Timmins, F., 2013. Communication skills for nursing practice. Palgrave
Macmillan.
Rogers, C. R., 2013. Client-centered therapy. Current psychotherapies, p. 95.
Silverman, J., Kurtz, S. and Draper, J., 2016. Skills for communicating with patient. CRC Press.