Communication and Leadership in Nursing: Reflective Journal Assignment

This assignment presents a nursing reflective journal focusing on observations, occurrences, and experiences (OOEs) related to communication within a healthcare setting. The student, working as a nurse care provider, reflects on an instance where a patient's language and cultural background were not considered, leading to communication barriers and potential misunderstandings. The journal highlights the importance of effective communication, cultural sensitivity, and the impact of these factors on patient care quality. The author discusses the need for improved training on language, communication styles, and cultural influences to ensure better patient understanding and prevent medical errors. The reflective piece emphasizes the significance of interpersonal communication and the role of healthcare providers in creating a patient-centered environment. The journal uses the student's experience to emphasize the importance of effective communication and the need for healthcare organizations to address these issues for improved patient care. The assignment concludes with a call for better training within the healthcare organization to improve patient care and outcomes.

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The role of observation, occurrence and experience is highly crucial when it comes to the nursing
profession (Honda & Iwata, 2016). The term nursing observation can be defined as the objective
evaluation that is made by a nurse about the different aspects associated with the condition of the
client. The OOE experience that I will be sharing has taken place in the X healthcare home
where I was appointed as a Nurse Care provider. While working in organization, I encountered
situations where I observed my coworkers treating the patients without having enough
understanding of patient, culture, language where the patients were from different cultural,
lingual and sociological background. A large number of patients were from indigenous
background. For instance, once, Mr. X, a 50 years old women suffering from influenza had got
admitted in the healthcare home. I noticed that the Nurse Care giver, while trying to assume the
vital signs of her health by herself without understanding patient’s language and patient’s
communication about physical problems. As a result of this unhealthy practice, a good number of
patient complained about lack of understanding and empathy within nurses.
Documentation of the insight
The above discussed occurrence was highly meaningful for me since it not only made me aware
of the impact of not understanding the physical and mental condition of the patient because of
lack of understanding about patient’s language on the quality of healthcare service, it also helped
me to gain effective understanding of the importance proper communication method in
healthcare organizations. Considering the fact that throughout my academic life as well as
training session, I has been taught that using a health worker should pay attention what patient is
saying about his or her experience and feeling while checking patients is one of the most crucial
aspects of nursing, I found this unhealthy practice and lack of appropriate supervision of nursing

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practice to be highly unhealthy, unprofessional and even fatal in severe cases. The healthcare
service providers should train the health workers regarding the patient’s language, way of
communication, cultural influence since it helps to understand medical condition of the patients
(Okello et al., 2017). It protects both healthcare service users and provider from infection. All the
staffs, patients as well as visitors of the hospitals must keep a well interpersonal communication
while checking the health of the patients and special when there will be direct contact with blood
and fluid. As a healthcare service provider, I used to maintain different communication practice
based on the cultural background and ethnicity of the patient so that at least I can ensure that I
am not responsible for the deterioration of diseases.
I am reflecting on this specific occurrence, since I want my audience to be aware of the negative
consequences associated with lack of understanding about the significance of effective
communication between healthcare service consumer and provider. As per my opinion, it is high
time for the management of the X organization to implement effective training to make the care
provided competent of different languages and cultures of the patients.

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Reference List
Honda, H., & Iwata, K. (2016). Personal protective equipment and improving compliance among
healthcare workers in high-risk settings. Current opinion in infectious
diseases, 29(4), 400-406.
Okello, T. R., Kansime, K., Odora, J., Apio, J. A., & Pecorella, I. (2017). Barriers and factors
affecting personal protective equipment usage in St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in
Northern Uganda. East and Central African Journal of Surgery, 22(1), 59-65.