401205 Professional Communication in Nursing: Chester's Scenario

This report delves into the critical role of therapeutic communication in nursing, focusing on a scenario involving a patient named Chester Abioye. Chester, experiencing stress and unhealthy lifestyle habits, requires a holistic approach to care. The report emphasizes the importance of nurses developing strong therapeutic relationships with patients through effective verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as person-centered care. It highlights how active listening, understanding non-verbal cues, and building trust are essential for nurses to provide comprehensive care that addresses both the physical and mental well-being of patients like Chester, ultimately contributing to improved health outcomes. Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers for students.

Running head: PROFESSSIONAL COMMUNICATION
PROFESSSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PROFESSSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Medicines and effective treatment is the primary factor in healthcare however there are
some underlining factors which are essential in healthcare like a therapeutic nurse and patient
relationship. Therapeutic nurse and patient relationship is generally defined as one helping
relationship which is primarily based on mutual respect and trust, nurturing hope and faith,
sensitive towards others and also self and assisting patients with the gratification of their
emotional, physical and the spiritual needs through the skills and knowledge of the nurse
(Kelley, Kraft-Todd, Schapira et al, 2014). This paper will reflect on a patient scenario and state
how nurses will develop therapeutic relationship with their patients and help the patients in
overcoming the problems that they have been facing.
Chester Abioye is a patient who is in a lot of stress and is hardly active. He is currently
living in Australia alone without any family around. Previously he has a record of suffering from
depression and thus wants to improve his lifestyle and health by exercising regularly and eating
properly in order to make positive changes in his life. Chester does have a healthy lifestyle as he
rarely exercises as according to him it is boring and smokes about a packet every day. He usually
eats rice, meat and bread but hardly adds vegetables in his diet which makes his diet unhealthy.
The role of nurses goes beyond just providing the right medication to the patients that is
prescribed by the doctor. After the doctor prescribes thee medication to their patients it is duty of
the nurse to take care of the patients and look after the overall health of the patient physically as
well as mentally. Developing therapeutic nurse-patient relationship has become one of the
important aspects in healthcare which is highly important. It is important to have a proper
communication with the patients so that the nurse can understand what are the needs and the
requirements of the patients so that they can provide the necessary treatments and take care of
them properly. In order to develop a therapeutic relationship with the patients it the duty of the

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nurses put their communication skills both verbal as well as non-verbal and provide person-
centered care which is highly effective and essential in healthcare.
According to scholars, good communication is highly essential in therapeutic relationship
which helps nurses to connect with the patient and understand the exact needs and desires of the
patient (Bondi, 2014). Listening to the patient is one of the most essential part in communication
and it becomes essential for the nurse to put all the attention to what the patient is saying to
provide proper treatment and care. Scholars state that patient-safe communication is considered
to be a goal-oriented activity which highly focuses on preventing the adverse events and to help
patients in attaining the optimal outcomes in terms of health and every aspect and factor of
healthcare depends on the fact that how well the communication is between the professional and
the patients (Levitt-Jones, 2020). Aligning it with the patient scenario, it is important for the nurse to
actively communicate with Chester and understand what he wants and suggest him a proper diet and
encourage him to exercise and restrict him to smoking less cigarettes which is going to have a positive
impact on his overall health.
It has been seen that many patients do not express their discomfort and communicate
verbally about the issues they are facing. Non-verbal communication is an integral part in
patient-centered care where gestures, posture, tone of voice, facial expressions and eye contact
play a huge role. According to scholars, a good nurse will always be able to read the minds of the
patient in order to provide them with the care they desire which helps in the mental satisfaction
(Feo, Rasmussen, Wiechula et al, 2017). It is essential for the nurse to understand the discomfort
the patients are facing which may have been affecting them for example like expression of the
patient while they are being injected. In the case of Chester, the nurse by looking at Chester
should make out the distress he is feeling which results in him smoking about a packet of

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cigarettes which can be seen in his appearance and also shows his anxiety as he is a heavy
smoker.
The other aspect is person-centered care which helps in developing therapeutic
relationship between the patient and the nurse. According to scholars, person-centered care
primarily involves case respect and trust (Hill, Hall & Glew, 2016). In a person centred care the
patients share information regarding their personal health issues and the nurse shares information
like their professional role. This is mainly built on the needs of the person and the healthcare
provider. However, it is important that the nurses understand the boundary and be professional
throughout the time they are treating the person. This relationship does bring trust and create a
bond where the patients trust on the nurse which helps in the emotional as well as mental
satisfaction of the patient. In the case of Chester, the nurse needs to give time to Chester and
communicate efficiently to create a trust and encourage Chester to talk about the issues he has
been facing and the reason for his depression in the past which will help the nurse in learning
about his history to understand the exact care he needs for overcoming the issue and attaining a
better and healthy lifestyle.
Nurses have a huge role to play and have a lot of importance in providing proper
healthcare to the patients. It is important for the nurses to try and develop a therapeutic nurse and
patient relationship which helps in establishing a positive relationship but also encourage verbal
communication and person centered care. Every patient is different and responds to treatments in
a different manner thus developing a therapeutic relationship by encouraging verbal and non-
verbal communication and person centered care will help in treating the patients efficiently and
contribute to their overall well-being in terms of both their physical as well as mental health.

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Reference
Bondi, L. (2014). Understanding feelings: Engaging with unconscious communication and
embodied knowledge. Emotion, Space and Society, 10, 44-54.
Feo, R., Rasmussen, P., Wiechula, R., Conroy, T., & Kitson, A. (2017). Developing effective
and caring nurse-patient relationships. Nursing Standard (2014+), 31(28), 54.
Hill, R., Hall, D., & Glew, P. (2016). Fundamentals of Nursing and Midwifery. Google Books. Retrieved 26
March 2020, from https://books.google.co.in/books?
id=O1L1jwEACAAJ&dq=Introduction+to+nursing,+Midwifery+and+person-
centred+care&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiJoPzB0LjoAhVrJaYKHWFsCWEQ6AEINTAB.
Kelley, J. M., Kraft-Todd, G., Schapira, L., Kossowsky, J., & Riess, H. (2014). The influence of
the patient-clinician relationship on healthcare outcomes: a systematic review and meta-
analysis of randomized controlled trials. PloS one, 9(4).
Levitt-Jones, T. (2020). Critical Conversations for Patient Safety EBook. Google Books. Retrieved 26
March 2020, from https://books.google.co.in/books?
id=oln0twEACAAJ&dq=the+relationship+between+communication+and+patient+safety+levett+jo
nes&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0l56Lu7joAhVmILcAHR55CFkQ6AEIMTAB.