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Introduction
Communication is defined as the act of imparting knowledge and encompasses
the exchange of information, ideas and feelings. Every day we communicate
hundreds of times by telephone, text and email, as well as by writing and speaking.
Effective communication is central to a successful nurseclients relationship.
Traditionally, this has been verbal but, increasingly, clients are expecting written
communication from the clinician regarding results and summariing their
consultation. !ome clinics even use !"! texting to encourage patients to attend
appointments. #or an example Europeans countries hospital and private hospital in
the !ri $anka. %ood communication plays a pivotal role in reducing complaints made
against a nurse. &urse has to do ma'or role of the communication skills in the
hospital. Communication is a learned skill. (owever, while most people are born with
the physical ability to talk, not all can communicate well unless they make special
efforts to develop and refine this skill further )y this effective communication, nurse
can provide excellent nursing care and keep good interpersonal relationship with
patient and their relatives. *nfortunately in our country nurses are doing lot of work
with shortages of nurses in the hospital and provide huge services for clients. )ut
they are not keeping good communication with clients. +lthough they have empathy
for their clients. Today, healthcare is ever more complex and diverse, and improving
communication among healthcare professionals is likely to support the safe delivery
of patient care. The ob'ectives of this guide are to raise awareness and stimulate
discussion and action around what our healthcare organiation, division or unit can
do to improve communication and teamwork. In this +ssignment aims to provide the
necessary components to help nurse to achieve successful communication with
colleagues, patients and their relatives.
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,.- .hat are the Communication !kills
)eing able to communicate with others is one of the best life skills a person can
develop. !omeone who can effectively communicate thoughts, ideas, and feelings is
better e/uipped for success both on the 'ob and in personal relationships. The
purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly and
unambiguously. 0oing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and
the receiver. In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the
receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication. )y
successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas
effectively. Then nurse can very easy to take relationship building for granted in
everyday life. (awker, 1,2345 identified what she described as 6busy gait7.
Communication can happen in a variety of ways and could include verbal, non8verbal
or written communication. To embark on the process of improvement, one has to
recognie one9s areas of improvement first. .e all know that people communicate
in ways other than the spoken or written word. Indeed, non8verbal communication
that takes place though facial expression, body position, eye contract, and other
physical gestures is important both to understand and to master. It is basically the act
of speaking without using words. The non8verbal side to communication can often
hold the key to what someone is really thinking or meaning. It can also affect the
impression we make on others. #or an example, when nurse interviewed the clients,
she can keep eye contract and erect posture, are positive than to those displaying
negative non8verbal cues. &urse should be better speaker and to be considerate, do
not dominate the conversation by talking only about herself. *se /uestions to probe
the client7s feelings or opinions on the topic of conversation. +lso speak clearly, do
not mumble or talk in the opposite direction of the listener. +lso use words that nurse
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know the active listener might understand. &urse has to do stay focused on the
conversation. Then client can understand nurse well and can reduced his anxiety.
If the client seems inattentive or uncomfortable, it is probably not a good time to
be carrying on a conversation. If nurse find it hard to concentrate because of client7s
surroundings, move to another area or schedule another time to talk. &urse should
practice reflective listening and repeat what she thinks the speaker said to ensure
she heard the speaker correctly. :eflective listening gives the speaker a chance to
clarify a point and ensures that both the speaker and the listener are on the same
page. +lways nurse should $isten for understanding and do not by shy or
embarrassed to ask /uestions and any clarification. &ot only understand but also
nurse should wait for the speaker to finish. 0o not interrupt, even when it7s apparent
the client speaking is gathering his;her thoughts. .hen client is speaking, do not
spend that time preparing your remarks or working on a pro'ect listen. &urse should
<eep eye contact with client. The fine points of arguing fairly, everyone gets into
arguments, but good communicators know how to argue fairly. They are do not resort
to name calling. Try the five8second rule to choose words that are appropriate and
relevant to the disagreement. +nger is a natural emotion. If nurse feel her anger
reaching that point, leave the scene immediately and do something safe to calm
herself down counting to 4-, taking a brisk walk or exercising. +lthough that is
probably the last thing on your mind when you are having a disagreement, it should
be the first.
4.- &urse Client relationship
Everyone7s relationship is uni/ue, and people come together for many different
reasons. )ut there are some things that good relationships have in common.
<nowing the basic principles of healthy relationships helps keep them meaningful,
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fulfilling and exciting in both happy times and sad. .hen nurse need to talk about
something important, the connection and understanding may no longer be there. &o
one person can meet all of our needs, and expecting too much from someone can
put a lot of unhealthy pressure on a relationship. .hen both people feel comfortable
expressing their needs, fears, and desires, trust and bonds are strengthened.
&onverbal cues=body language like eye contact, leaning forward or away, or
touching someone7s arm=are critical to communication. .hen meeting a client for
the first time, nurse will need to work towards engaging them in conversation and
discussion of their needs, expectations, goals and aspirations. They may have
difficulty engaging due to low self8esteem or feelings of being overwhelmed. .hen
nurse work with clients in a hospital, community and disability service organiation.
+ key to engaging client is to acknowledge them in a pleasant and accepting
manner communicating warmth and genuineness. The client may feel nervous and
uncertain of the new relationship with nurse and may be sensitive to your
communication style. .armth, empathy, and genuineness are described as critical
aspects of helping relationships. Information gathering and sharing is very important
in community and disability service work to enable the worker to understand the
client7s needs and to give the client the necessary information re/uired to empower
them. .hen you are interviewing a client, it is important to use expressive forms of
communication including, paraphrasing, reflection, confrontation, interpretation and
non verbal communication. It is an attempt to enable the client to see his or her
behavior from a different perspective. +nother significant aspect of communication
involves non8verbal behavior. >eople can communicate volumes about themselves
and their reactions to others without the need for spoken dialogue. Ensure that the
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statutory hospital is contacted through the correct procedure to provide the necessary
information for appropriate action to be taken.
?.- $imitation of sharing, feelings and experiences with client
"ost people would agree that communication between two individuals should be
simple. It7s important to remember that there are differences between talking and
communicating. .hen you communicate, you are successful in getting your point
across to the person you7re talking to. .hen we talk, we tend to erect barriers that
hinder our ability to communicate. There are seven of these types of barriers to
effective communication. >hysical barriers are easy to spot doors that are closed,
walls that are erected, and distance between people all work against the goal of
effective communication. #or an example we can see the overcrowding in the ward
as lack of space in the building. >erceptual barriers, in contrast, are internal. If you
go into a situation thinking that the person you are talking to isn7t going to understand
or be interested in what you have to say, you may end up subconsciously make your
point. #or an example client suffering from high fever, nurse should have to feel and
give care for the client. Emotional barriers can be tough to overcome, but are
important to put aside to engage in conversations. >eople often pick up on insecurity.
)y believing in yourself and what you have to say, you will be able to communicate
clearly without becoming overly involved in your emotions. #or an example,
+ggressive client is scolding to the nurse, but nurse should not be angry with client.
Cultural barriers are a result of living in an ever shrinking world. 0ifferent cultures,
whether they are a societal culture of a race or simply the work culture of a hospital,
can hinder developed communication if two different cultures clash. In work
situations, like that "uslim clients, identifying a problem and coming up with a highly
efficient way to solve it can /uickly topple any cultural or institutional barriers.
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$anguage barriers seem pretty self8inherent, but there are often hidden language
barriers that we aren7t always aware of. The clients are using different languages in
hospital, like that English, Tamil "uslim and (indu. Therefore nurses should can
communicate with these clients. %ender barriers have become less of an issue in
recent years, but there is still the possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a
woman, or vice versa. "en and women tend to form their thoughts differently. This
difference has to do with how the brain of each sex is formed during gestation.
$anguage8based thinking and emotional identification. In the hospital nurse should
have give care to client according to gender. Interpersonal barriers are what
ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and opening ourselves up, not 'ust
to be heard, but to hear others. !ome people spend their entire lives attempting to
overcome a poor self8image or a series of deeply rooted pre'udices about their place
in the world. They are unable to form genuine connections with people because they
have too many false perceptions blocking the way.
@.- Conclusion
(ealth communication is an important field of study in the area of global health. )y
developing effective health communication strategies, and thereby e/uipping
communities with the necessary knowledge and skills, communities can better cope
with the debilitating effects of disease and illness. The barriers to effective health
communication, such as low health literacy, limited Internet access, lack of health
communication research activity in poor communities and proliferation of dubious
online material, must be addressed. (ealth communication programs must be
customied to meet the specific needs of each target audience with regards to
education level and language. "oreover, the role of culture cannot be
underestimated. (ealth professionals cannot dismiss the beliefs and views of a
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certain culture regarding health. Instead, they must strive to understand how these
beliefs can shape certain health behaviors, and with this knowledge, develop
powerful interventions.
:eferences
httpA;;www.rcog.org.uk;stratog;page;introduction8communication8skills
httpA;;www.mindtools.com;Comm!kll;CommunicationIntro.htm
httpA;;www.answers.com;topic;communication8skills
httpA;;www.aub.edu.lb;fm;shbpp;ethics;0ocuments;0r8Bames8Tulsky8Introduction8to8
Communication8skills.pdf
httpA;;www.ehow.com;listCDDE,@-3Cadvantages8effective8communication8skills.html
httpA;;en.wikipedia.org;wiki;interpersonal8relationshipFothers perspectives.
httpA;;opin.ca;article;seven8barriers8communication
Bohn :. !. Br., Bames %.(. G :ichard &. H.,14--I5.Hrganiational )ehavior12th ed.5.
%lorious printers, new 0elhi.

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The Open University of Sri Lanka
Communiation !SU " 31#8
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Table Hf Content
Introduction 1
1.# .hat are the Communication !kills 2
2.# &urse Client relationship 3
3.# $imitation of sharing, feelings and experiences with client 5
4.# Conclusions 6
:eferences 7