The Role of Communication in Healthcare Setting

Incorporating constructive nurses’ and organizational values is an effective competitive tool that can be used by the healthcare organizations. The cultural values of the nurses are often reinforced by the human resource management through hiring as well as recruitment process (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). The management in a typical healthcare setting should take employee engagement advantages through recruitment as a perfect means of identifying individuals with consistent values to those of the organization. However, the organization should ensure that the recruitment procedure is two-way such that, it familiarizes the interested applicants with the values and expectations of the organization while at the same time familiarizing the organization with the values of the right applicants.

The alignment between individual nurses’ cultural values and organization’s cultural values is vital because it correlates with the nurses’ turnover and patients’ satisfaction (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). Also, this kind of alignment creates a patient-centered culture as nurses who have similar cultural values as the organization have high likelihood of engaging and serving their patients. Therefore, the nurses of such organization will show more commitment to serving their patients. A collective objective as a result of common value does not only encourage nurses to channel their efforts to effectively perform their duties but also promote teamwork among the employees (Van Bogaert et al., 2017). Consequently, this leads to improved patient outcomes.

Question Two

Effective communication is very crucial in challenging fields such as healthcare setting. With effective communication, employees can motivate each other to acquire particular values that steer them towards the achievement of the set organizational objectives (Bramhall, 2014). It enables an individual to efficiently convey inspiring information to other nurses to adopt noble ways of reasoning that would enable them to offer effective services. Nurse leaders can also use effective communication in their units to constructive and significant organization culture. Thus, allowing the organization’s staff to participate in the implementation of common values. Additionally, effective communication can be used to guide nurses on the best means of solving day-to-day misunderstandings and problems that stir conflicts (Bramhall, 2014). Nursing study by Bramhall (2014) shows that effective communication positively relates to patients outcome, organizational performance, and employee job satisfaction.

Effective communication also aids minimizing conflicts within an organization through problem-solving among the nurses. Normally, conflicts arise in an organization due to communication breakdown and misunderstandings. In particular, the healthcare organization consists of different individuals with varying unique qualities and differences. Due to these differences, misunderstandings and problems are inevitable. Unfortunately, if these differences are not appropriately recognized, they could magnify into serious conflicts that may the outcome of the patient. Through effective communication, the different conflicting parties can voice their views and arrive at a universal understanding.  Effective communication, therefore, helps in conflict resolution and problem solving within the nursing and healthcare profession.

Question Three

The system needs and health culture recognition is an important factor in health communication and the general public health and has the potential to amount to the development of new and effective strategies for eliminating health disparities (Napier et al., 2014). The influence of health culture on the system needs is vast.  It affects health perceptions, illness, and approaches to health promotion. Culture-based has different health-related perceptions and preferences. Being aware of such cultural competence allows care providers to work on beliefs and sources care, and to incorporate new strategies into diagnosis and treatment process (Napier et al., 2014).

Question Four

An incorporated system needs and health culture is likely to be successful if health and occupational safety is considered in their design and execution. A growing body of evidence shows that system needs and health culture based that take planned, integrated, or coordinated approaches to minimizing health threats is more effective than other health approaches (Napier et al., 2014). Integrating such health promotion increases effectiveness and program participation.

Question Five

From my four-day personal experience in the nursing field, I realized that delivering healthcare services comprises of several handoffs of patients among different healthcare professionals who have different educational and occupational training. During this period, I found out that a patient was capable of interacting with many medical professionals including nurses, physicians, technicians, and many others. It is thus evident that effective clinical and medical practices consist of different instances that need effective communication of vital information. It is also essential for medical practitioners to maintain team collaboration without which patient’s safety is at risk.

Question Six

Experts in the healthcare organization I interacted with had a training program that focused on team management, a program that was created three years before I got into the organization. The massive step was adopted after the organization had consistently made a gradual decrease in patient outcome following medical errors that resulted from communication breakdown. The program customized on areas such as emergency and operating rooms and labor and delivery rooms where human factors were the major contributor of mishaps. Impressively, the organization has recorded tremendous success since the adoption of the program.  The patterns involving medical error reports have considerably improved, which has, in turn, improved patients outcome. Indeed, any healthcare organization that values the patients' outcome, knows that their employees are as well important for an impressive result. Such organizations will demonstrate their commitments to training their staffs and ultimately the people they serve.

References

Bramhall, E. (2014). Effective communication skills in nursing practice. Nursing Standard, 29(14), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.29.14.53.e9355

Napier, A. D., Ancarno, C., Butler, B., Calabrese, J., Chater, A., Chatterjee, H., … Woolf, K. (2014). Culture and health. The Lancet, 384(9954), 1607–1639. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61603-2

Van Bogaert, P., Peremans, L., Van Heusden, D., Verspuy, M., Kureckova, V., Van de Cruys, Z., & Franck, E. (2017). Predictors of burnout, work engagement and nurse reported job outcomes and quality of care: A mixed method study. BMC Nursing, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-016-0200-4