Communication Breakdown Cases
Introduction
Communication between the nurse and the patient is central to compassion, empathy, and care. However, the instances of communication breakdown are enhancing, and there is a surge of complaints in recent years concerning the attitudes of staff members. This paper reviews three case scenarios with an aim to explore the possible reasons for communication breakdown. A holistic discussion on these factors along with the suggestions is expected to impart a good idea of fundamental communication problems that have existed in different healthcare settings.
a. The communication broke down because of the careless approach by the nurse towards a patient with hearing maladies. The patient with hearing issues requires sole attention on the part of the speaker. The speaker must communicate the message slowly, distinctly, and naturally. Violating this mannerism, Nancy acted quite frivolously and conveyed the message casually while washing her hands. Little did she acknowledge that the extraneous noise in the form of tap water could have hindered the communiqué.
Secondly, communication must start with an address. Saying a person's name before initiating the conversation fetches the attention of the listener and plummets down the chances of neglect. Sadly, Nancy sneaked in without waiting for Mrs. Smith's answer, and did not allow her the time to 'collect' herself.
Lastly, shrieks of Mrs. Smith reveal that she was not well emotionally and mentally. She was, perhaps, reeling under fear and anxiety and needed someone who could impart emotional strength than just extending physical help. It might be possible that she would feel any pain while getting dressed that made her cry abruptly.
Obviously, Nancy should have behaved in a more matured manner considering the status of the patient. Instead of dictating the 'verdict,' she could have conversed with her intimately. She could have asked if Mrs. Smith was ready for getting dressed or not. Simply put, the story reveals a trailing compassion between the patient and the nurse. What Nancy did was only her 'duty', but the essence of nursing was missing in her conduct. Revealing the required compassion and empathy could have substantially improved the outcomes.
b. The communication lag occurred because of several reasons as depicted in the table below.
Reasons for Communication Breakdown
The language barrier messed up the essence of communication. As Mr. Mario was not well-versed in English, the physician commented to his son thinking that he will understand and convey it accurately. However, this decision only made the things worst as the son turned out to be a poor translator. Not only he' rhetorically' transformed the cut from the status of 'superficial' to 'super', but also generated fear vibes in his father. What added to the issues further was the impatience displayed by Mr. Mario. He even did not wait for the physician to come back with the equipment.
The primary way to improve communication in such cases is making the use of an efficient human translator or technological translation tools. If these are not available, it is imperative to employ non-verbal communication to clarify the things to an extent. As 'no communication' is better than 'wrong communication', it would have been appropriate to show the stitching equipment to Mr. Mario rather than passing on the message to his son.
c. The interaction between Mr. Jones and the nurse Joe did not come out fruitful because of
excessive alcohol consumption by Jones,
Lack of sensitive reflection and psychological focus by Joe and,
lack of empathy by Joe in asking/comprehending the background of events
Explicitly, the intoxicated state of Mr. Jones ruled the roost. However, Joe also failed to show the eagerness in grasping the trail of events( he was found unconscious in the cemetery) that had happened to Mr. Jones in the past one week. While she ignored the sad and withdrawn state of Jones, automatically coming to the conclusion(" you can get home to your lovely lady") might have debilitated and perplexed Mr. Jones. Things could have exposed in a different manner had the nurse Joe tried to understand the reason of his being drunk and unconscious. The best possible way to improve communication is to impart compassionate care to the vulnerable patients by making educated guesses( seeing cues that give the hint of a patient's mental status).
Reference(s)
Bramhall, E. (2014). Effective Communication Skills in Nursing Practice. Nursing Standard , 53-59.
