Communication in Health Care

Essay by mistiblu33 October 2006

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Within this assignment I will briefly explore the concept of communication, looking at definitions and the different aspects of communication. I will then relate this to my clinical experience and focus on non-verbal communication, as I reflect on my clinical placement with ten clients who have severe learning disabilities and complex needs i.e Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome and challenging behaviour and the importance of effective communication within their everyday lives. Reflection has a vital part to play in nursing. it helps us to be aware of positive/negative aspects within our work and be able to learn by reflecting phenomenon (occurence) to use for evaluation and future reference, Reid (1993) implies that reflection is "a process of reviewing an experience of practice in order to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning about practice" (page 305). I will attempt to identify my strengths and weaknesses realised whilst working with clients who have a learning disability.

Kopp (2000) says "that nurses may lack in understanding and sensitivity when dealing with people who have difficulties in communication" page 45.

Pseudonyms have been used whilst illustrating with examples from clinical practice to protect the client's rights and privacy in accordance with the UKCC (1996) guidelines.

Theory of communication

The Oxford Popular English Dictionary (2001) defines communication as "something that communicates information, sent or transmitted from one person to another; a letter or message" (page 148).

Communication without a doubt is one of (if not) the most essential skill needed within every aspect of our lifespan. Furthermore Faulkner (2000) states that "To be able to communicate effectively with others is at the heart of all patient care" (page 1).

Communication is a vast area promoting effective interaction, the main aspects are verbal and non verbal, and is a two way process like sharing, as expressed...