University Nursing: Overcoming Communication Barriers in Patient Care

This reflective essay examines the case of Rosa, an 80-year-old woman admitted to the hospital with acute and chronic health issues, including a hip fracture and dementia, which significantly impacted her mobility and communication. The essay highlights the challenges faced by healthcare professionals, particularly communication barriers stemming from Rosa's cultural background (Italian) and her limited English proficiency, as well as her dementia. The author reflects on these challenges, recognizing the difficulties in building a therapeutic relationship and providing effective care. Strategies to mitigate these challenges are proposed, including seeking assistance from Rosa's husband, involving an Italian-speaking nurse to bridge the communication gap, and implementing reminders and written notes to manage her dementia and ensure adherence to the care plan. The essay concludes with an emphasis on the importance of cultural safety and effective communication in providing quality patient care, especially for patients with diverse backgrounds and cognitive impairments. The action plan focuses on using effective cultural safety methods to reduce patient anxiety and promote comfort during recovery.

Running head: REFLECTION
REFLECTION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction
This essay highlights the case study of Rosa, 80 years old women, who was suffering
from acute as well chronic health issue and was admitted to the emergency department of the
hospital. A reflective writing is highlighted in this study that forms an essential part of
nursing profession thereby allowing the professionals to identify and understand the clinical
scenario of the patient. Reflective learning also assist the professional to identify the
weakness and strength of the patient’s health condition and accordingly help the patient with
effective measures.
Description
The study revolves around the patient Rosa Calapari, 80 years old Italian women.
From the case study it was evident that she had a prolonged medical history of both acute and
chronic illness. The patient was suffering from hip fracture and was admitted to the
emergency department due to her medical condition that made her very anxious and lost her
mobility thereby restricting her activities like walking and chatting with neighbours or
gardening. This condition made her furious and she turned aggressive and angry towards the
staff members of the hospital.
Identification of health-related problems that will affect the quality of
communication with Rosa
Two major health-related problems were identified from the patient’s history and
from that analysis it was evident that she required support to overcome from her health
condition. I feel that her condition was very critical and she required an immediate action and
recovery process. I felt very challenging to communicate with Rosa that was generating a
major cultural barrier due to her inability to understand English as she belonged from a

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different cultural background. She was very furious and worried when she was admitted to
the emergency department of an Australian hospital because of the cultural diversity. She
could only understand Italian, as Italian was her first language and she could barely
communicate in English language. The second challenging problem that would influence the
quality of interaction with Rosa was her dementia issue that in turn reduced her capability to
take care of her health by following the necessary care plan as instructed by her GP.
Reflection on the chosen health-related challenges
Being an Australian nurse I did not belong to the same cultural background as Rosa,
hence it was very difficult for me to initiate any communication with her and build a
therapeutic relationship with her. Being from dissimilar cultural background, I could speak
and communicate with the patient in English language and Rosa could only understand and
speak Italian that was making communication between me and Rosa very difficult. Lack of
proper communication was may be triggering Rosa thus making her anxious and furious.
Being a nurse I would instruct Rosa regarding her medicines, diet, recovery plan and other
associated activities that would help her to recover as soon as possible but Rosa had
symptoms of dementia and she might forget to take her medicines or to perform any physical
activity that would help her in recovery.
Strategies used to mitigate the health-related challenges of Rosa
In order to effectively treat a patient it is very important to build and maintain a
positive therapeutic connection with the patent and to make the patient feel comfortable. I
will try to make Rosa feel comfortable and reduce her anxiety level. Based on her cultural
background, I will develop a care plan that will include the necessities and habits of Rosa in
order to make her feel comfortable and relaxed. I will take help from her husband and
understand the requirements and comprehension of Rosa towards her health issue and arrange

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for an Italian nurse to further enhance communication with Rosa. The Italian nurse can easily
understand the spiritual context of Rosa’s cultural background and the food preferences of
Rosa that will help me to devise an appropriate care plan for her. I would also set alarms that
will remind Rosa to take her medicines and food. I will also write daily notes that will
consists of the medicines, food chart and other associated activities that Rosa must follow to
recover easily. These notes will help Rosa to take her medicines and food on time.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that communication barrier is very challenging for the patient
with different cultural background as it disturbs effective flow of communication hence
making the patient furious and uncomfortable. In case of Rosa, linguistic barrier was
considered as a major challenge along with her dementia condition. Rosa had dementia where
she would forget her daily activities of life like consumption of medicines and food on time.
Effective strategies were adapted that helped to overcome the healthcare barrier of Rosa in
her recovery process.
Action plan
Effective cultural safety methods should be used and adapted as action plan that will help the
patient to reduce her anxiety and be comfortable during her recovery process.