Problem Solving in Clinical Setting: Cerebral Palsy Case Study

This essay examines a clinical scenario involving a 13-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who has complex communication needs. The essay details the problem of ineffective communication between the patient, her mother, and healthcare providers, stemming from a previous nurse's lack of understanding and negative perceptions towards the condition. It analyzes the challenges faced by individuals with cerebral palsy, particularly regarding communication, and outlines the implementation of four verbal communication techniques – advice, clarification, recognition, and the use of simple language – to address the patient's and her mother's unmet needs. The essay reflects on the effectiveness of these problem-solving skills and acknowledges the potential for further collaborative practice. References to key research papers are included to support the discussion.

Running head: ESSAY
Problem solving
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ESSAY
Introduction- Problem solving refers to the procedure of defining a particular
problem, following which the cause of problem is determined. This is generally followed by
recognising, arranging and selecting alternative solutions, which are implemented to resolve
the problem (Baker, 2017). This essay will elaborate on an incident in clinical setting that
required problem solving.
Defining the problem- A 13 year old girl X (pseudonym) was being treated for
cerebral palsy at the hospital and she manifested complex communication needs. The child
was previously been cared for by another nursing professional who was not able to
communicate properly with her. The patient and her mother wanted to directly communicate
with the nurse regarding the plan of care and also expressed the wish of receiving information
that was directly associated to the developmental disorder. After handover, I found that both
the patient and her mother were feeling hopeless in getting their healthcare needs addressed
and were also subjected to the brunt of communication difficulties. In addition, the previous
nurse-in-charge also demonstrated negative perception towards cerebral palsy, and was not
aware of the threats that such patients are subjected to.
Analysis- Cerebral palsy is a complex disorder and the patients manifest a range of
characteristic symptoms. Owing to the huge number of clinical challenges that are commonly
experienced by these patients, they have to remain admitted to healthcare facilities for a
considerable time (Polack et al., 2018). Though the condition commonly affects muscle tone,
movement and posture, the affected people experiences challenges with communication in
different domains like development of facial expression, gesture, speech, expressive
language, receptive language and voice production (Weber et al., 2016). This explains the
patient’s demand for directly interacting with the healthcare provider in order to resolve
queries about the care and prognosis.

2ESSAY
Developing solutions- On evaluating the scenario, I recognised the importance of
effective communication while delivering care and implemented four techniques of verbal
communication for addressing the problem. The first technique of verbal communication
technique displayed by me was, advice. While giving advice I mainly focus on educating the
mother and her daughter about importance self-care in cerebral palsy while having faith in the
healthcare system. Kim, Kang and Jang (2017) stated that increase in the level of self-care
like proper diet and reduction in stress help to decrease the severity of the disease. The
second verbal communication technique was clarification. I effectively communicated with
both the patient and her mother in order to get detailed a detailed picture of their unmet needs
along with communication needs. Solanke et al. (2018) stated that children with cerebral
palsy have significant unmet needs in comparison to children with other special healthcare
needs. Clarification of these unmet needs by the use effective communication skills help in
the generation of collaborative programs targeting the severe chronic condition. Both the
mother and her ward were complaining that their voices are not heard by the nursing
professionals and they want direct communication about therapy plan and progress. In the
third step of the verbal communication process I gave recognition to their communication
needs and designed a meeting with the registered head nurse and the attending doctors so that
they can clear their needs. I was listening to their queries and complain with utmost
concentration by making direct eye contact and this help them to feel empowered and
recognised. Weber et al. (2016) stated that children with cerebral palsy experience difficulties
in several areas of communication like speech, development of gestures and facial expression
and expression of language and voice production. Thus the fourth verbal communication
technique used by me was use of simple everyday language in initiating communication. The
use of simple language helped the teenage girl to understand the information shared from
healthcare professionals' end and also increased her self-esteemed to share her part of pain.

3ESSAY
Looking back- On reflecting at the incident, I realised that the appropriate problem
solving skills were used to eliminate the challenges that arose in clinical setting. However, I
could also have questioned the nurse-in-charge to identify the root cause of her undesirable
behaviour and this would further increase the scope of collaborative practice.
Conclusion- Though the need of effective communication skills in healthcare is a
well-known concept, the challenging situation arose while delivering care to a child with
cerebral palsy. It was well addressed using verbal communication skills.

4ESSAY
References
Baker, R. (2017). Problem-solving. In Agile UX Storytelling (pp. 107-116). Apress, Berkeley,
CA.
Kim, K., Kang, J. Y., & Jang, D. H. (2017). Relationship between mobility and self-care
activity in children with cerebral palsy. Annals of rehabilitation medicine, 41(2), 266.
Polack, S., Adams, M., O'banion, D., Baltussen, M., Asante, S., Kerac, M., ...&Zuurmond,
M. (2018). Children with cerebral palsy in Ghana: malnutrition, feeding challenges,
and caregiver quality of life. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(9), 914-
921.
Solanke, F., Colver, A., McConachie, H., & Transition Collaborative Group. (2018). Are the
health needs of young people with cerebral palsy met during transition from child to
adult health care?. Child: care, health and development, 44(3), 355-363.
Weber, P., Bolli, P., Heimgartner, N., Merlo, P., Zehnder, T., &Kätterer, C. (2016).
Behavioral and emotional problems in children and adults with cerebral
palsy. european journal of paediatric neurology, 20(2), 270-274.