Therapeutic Communication in Adult Nursing
Nursing is a health care profession focusing on attending to the needs of the human physical and psychological wellbeing. Therefore, this practice requires individuals to have the scientific knowledge, interpersonal skills, and intellectual and technical skills to work under pressure. This aspect requires an individual to have a composition of knowledge, interpersonal communication, and clinical experience (Kourkouta and Papathanasiou, 2014). Communication, in this sense, is a significant element of nursing, necessary in all areas of the profession, such as prevention, therapy, treatment, education, or rehabilitation. Nursing is a profession that utilizes scientific knowledge mostly through dialogue and interaction with interpersonal environments that require verbal communication skills (Kourkouta and Papathanasiou, 2014).
Communication is exchanging information, feelings, and thoughts between or among individuals either through speech or actions. The therapeutic practice involves oral communication between patients and nurses or public health officials. The patient can convey their concerns to the nurse, who then assists them in making a diagnosis. In this instance, the nurse transmits this information delicately and with utmost discretion back to the patient regarding the type of the illness and advises on the treatment plan for patient outcomes (Kourkouta and Papathanasiou, 2014). As such, effective communication needs an individual to comprehend the patient and their experiences. This comprehension requires skill and sincere intention by the nurse in understanding the concerns of the patient. This paper analyzes the film, Hospital Admission from the caregiver’s perspective and her theories when handling Helen. This essay offers a critical reflection of the interaction between the nurse and Helen, an intellectually challenged individual seeking medical attention, and the communication skills employed during this interaction.
Nursing theories are the backbone of the nursing profession. These nursing theories are guidelines for knowledge development, research, and practice (Wayne, 2021). Centuries ago, nursing did not have the academic recognition it presently and was mainly considered a task-oriented profession. However, with recognizing the nursing profession as an academic discipline, nursing theories became the center of the occupation by identifying what aspects should be the foundation of nursing practice (Wayne, 2021). Furthermore, these theories also define nursing, helping nurses understand their roles, responsibilities, and purpose in healthcare. Besides, these theories also serve as rationale and offer scientific reasons for nursing interventions that form the basis for conduct for nurses in various situations. These theories are evident in the nurse’s interaction with Helen to collect information for a diagnosis.
Besides, these nursing theories are the basis of nursing and practice and are a source of knowledge that indicate the direction to which the profession should move towards (Wayne, 2021). The theories also give nurses a sense of identity, which helps them acknowledge and understand their unique contributions. For instance, in the interaction between the nurse and Helen, it is evident that the nurse was utilizing communication theories such as establishing a rapport with the patient at the beginning of their conversation. Nursing theories also equip nurses with the skills to allow them to reflect on the assumptions and question the nursing values that increase the profession’s knowledge base. They also serve to preserve the professional limits of nursing practice, which ensure ethical conduct at all times.
In the conversation the nurse had with Helen, it is evident that the nurse utilized various communication theories used in nursing practice. The communication theory that was significant in the interaction was Peplau’s interpersonal relations theory. According to Neese (2016), this theory focuses on the nurse-patient relationship and the therapeutic process. The communication based on this theory is complex, especially regarding factors like the environment, attitude, beliefs, or practices. In this case, Helen is a patient with significant intellectual inabilities that require the nurse to use more effort to communicate effectively. Peplau’s interpersonal theory focuses on four phases, orientation, identification, exploitation, and resolution. However, based on the interaction on film, only two steps were evident, namely, orientation and identification.
The orientation phase typically involves the nurse engaging the patient in treatment, and the patient is capable of asking questions and receiving explanations and information. This stage is vital in establishing trust and based on first impressions that evolve and reflect on the health care system (Neese, 2016). The nurse in the film first asks Helen if she has diabetes and quickly dials back to explain that she will be helping Helen fill out her form before seeing a physician. The nurse, as such, is aware of the necessity of establishing a relationship with the patient at first and proceeds to involve her in the conversation by asking questions such as “is that alright?” at this moment, the nurse feels like she involves Helen more, to allow the patient to feel at ease and communicate their needs.
The nurse uses the identification phase of the theory, where she begins to collaborate with the patient. This phase involves interactions that provide the basis for trust, understanding, and acceptance as they become more active in their treatment (Neese, 2016). This phase begins when the nurse asks Helen why she came to the hospital that day. The nurse is very patient to listen to her as she explains what issue she had even though the nurse had a difficult time understanding what she was saying. Furthermore, the nurse did not interrupt her statements, or attempt to assume where Helen was ailing, a factor that established her as competent and aware of the communication theories.
Furthermore, the nurse also seems aware to use the Dyadic interpersonal communication model, which describes the dynamic process that typically occurs between a nurse and a patient (Neese, 2016). This model bases on a giver and a recipient and caters for external factors such as perception, attitude, emotional or physical elements, or content. This ideology theorizes that numerous factors can alter messages or their delivery (Neese, 2016). The dyadic model emphasizes the significance of awareness of these aspects that can significantly affect verbal and nonverbal communication. The nurse, in this case, understands that the patient she is serving has a significant speech impairment, which posed a challenge in touch. However, she patiently waited for Helen to describe her ailment without pushing her to speak faster or get restless at the moment.
The nurse was also aware that she used this knowledge to fill out the form on her behalf because of Helen’s condition. This action demonstrates a professional with a grasp on the dyadic interpersonal model that accounts for other factors that can influence communication. The nurse even goes further to turn an uncomfortable situation into humor when Helen tells her she is a pain when she cannot understand right away what Helen is saying. This knowledge allowed the nurse to remain professional and utilize good practice techniques to diffuse a tense situation when she asks Helen other than her what else feels painful. At this moment, Helen feels more comfortable explaining the pain in her leg, which the nurse proceeds to examine.
Therefore, helping patients requires nurses to consider the tools involved in effective communication. These tools range from awareness of potential barriers, such as speech in this instance, that significantly affected effective communication, and utilizing communication skills that help improve patient outcomes (Neese, 2016). There are three essential skills involved in communication, nonverbal communication, listening, and personal relationships, all of which the nurse utilized when interacting with Helen. Nonverbal communication is an ongoing process, according to Neese (2016), typically characterized by facial expressions, posture, gestures, or distance. Nonverbal communication should compliment verbal communication. However, in stressful situations, nonverbal communication can be challenging to assess.
In this short film, the nurse is seen with several nonverbal communication cues. She maintains eye contact with Helen as much as possible when speaking to her, a sign that she is interested in what Helen has to say. Furthermore, she even leans forward and moves closer to Helen because she is pretty inaudible; to ensure she hears what the patient is attempting to communicate. These cues go hand in hand with listening skills. Nurses should concentrate and pay attention to all their senses to perceive both verbal and nonverbal messages sent by the patient. The nurse in the film can be seen actively listening to Helen as she describes her ailment, being careful not to interrupt her or suggest situations that she can agree. The nurse also congratulates Helen for making complete sentences and assures her by commenting that she fully understood what she was explaining.
Personal relationships are also a significant factor in communicating. This factor is marked by compassion, kindness, and care (Neese, 2016). Therefore, nurses can develop personal relationships with their patients by asking patients with kindness and providing information that exudes interest, trust, and acceptance. In the film, the nurse is kind and caring to Helen, even when Helen seems impatient when she feels misunderstood. The nurse maintains being kind in the questions she asks and demonstrates interest when Helen describes what brought her to the hospital. Therefore, throughout the entire experience, the nurse remains professional and compassionate by asking questions that allowed Helen to explain to create an accurate diagnosis.
To sum up, nursing practice is a profession that requires an array of skills and competencies to give patients an overall experience that would improve their outcomes. These skills range from grasping various nursing theories such as Peplau’s interpersonal relations theory, the dyadic interpersonal theory, and communication skills. The nursing theories, in this essence, encourage the nurse in the film to establish a relationship with Helen first before proceeding to inquire on symptoms. Furthermore, the use of these theories by the nurse is evident, based on the calm demeanor that she maintained even when situations could have been uncomfortable. Moreover, the nurse in the film also employs the three communication skills, nonverbal communication, listening, and personal relationships, to ensure she captures information accurately for interpretation later. Therefore, this film is evidence of these theories and skills in action and their effect on a patient.
