The aim of this report is look at a critical incident that occurred in practice and relate this to the theory and knowledge regarding communication and interpersonal skills, that is to say, what skills were and were not used at the time of the incident. Carl Roger's necessary conditions for effective counseling, Heron's six category intervention and methods of non-verbal communication will all be examined. The incident that was chosen was so for the reasons that the situation made the student aware of inadequacies on her own part and those of the staff on the ward, which made her reflect upon the situation and how this could be learned from, so as not to make the same mistake again. Due to confidentiality, the patient concerned in this incident will be referred to under the pseudonym of "Mrs. Khan". The incident took place on an adult rehabilitation ward.
Tags: Nursing health care reform, Nursing health care plan, Importance of communication in nursing, communication in nursing practice, Communication and nursing practice
[...] British Journal of Nursing. Vol No pp 279. Kenworthy, N. et al. Eds. (2002) Common foundation studies in nursing. (3rd edition) London: Churchill Livingstone. Maslin-Prothero, S. Ed. (1997) Baillière's study skills for nurses. London: Baillière Tindall. Rowe, J. (1999) Self-awareness: improving nurse-client interactions. Nursing Standard. Vol No pp. 37-40. Squires, A.J. Ed. (1988) The rehabilitation of the older patient. A handbook for the multi-disciplinary team. London Croom Helm Limited. P Unknown. (1990) The student nurse's guide to counseling. Nursing Times. [...]
[...] Khan a smile and a wave (to say hello) and sometimes sat with her to give her some form of company. Mrs. Khan was admitted to the ward following a trip to India, with a cough. It was suspected on her admission that this cough was due to tuberculosis, however she was still admitted in the bay. Four days following admission, after settling into the bay, it was decided to take the suspected tuberculosis more seriously and to move her into the side room, into isolation, and take swabs to test for tuberculosis. [...]
[...] This is the transaction that occurred in the incident with Mrs. Khan. The nurses adopted a parent ego state and placed Mrs. Khan in the child ego state, resulting in Mrs. Khan feeling hurt and vulnerable. This parent-child transaction is inappropriate when caring for patients; a complementary adult-adult transaction should be used instead (Rowe, 1999). In other words the nurses on the ward should have waited for the link worker before moving Mrs. Khan. Along similar lines is Heron's Six Category Intervention. [...]
[...] Khan was in a position to talk to another person and Mrs. Khan's non-verbal communication conveyed this. Mrs. Khan appeared to also adopt the SOLER approach; she sat facing the student, openly and leaned slightly towards the student, maintained eye contact with the student and appeared to be relaxed. Mrs. Khan's eyes conveyed warmth and Mrs. Khan also smiled whilst she was talking to the student. Bush (2001) asserts that non-verbal communication is just as important as verbal, and that interpreting non-verbal cues can become easier if nurses remain aware of patient's eye contact, expressions, gestures and so on. [...]
[...] Before the critical incident is examined it is important to look at what a critical incident is and why it is important to nursing practice. Girot (1997, in Maslin-Prothero, 1997) states that critical incidents are a means of exploring a certain situation in practice and recognizing what has been learned from the situation. Benner (1984, cited by Kacperek, 1997) argues that nurses cannot increase or develop their knowledge to its full potential unless they examine their own practice. Critical Incident. [...]
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