EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION in Healthcare Full Essay
Introduction
Commination in an organization is defined as sending and receiving messages in a
particular environment amongst am interrelated individuals, and it can be through writing,
speaking or using other mediums. Communication is meant to pass a message to achieve a
specific goal. Human beings use communication on a day to understand each other in several
contexts. Communications in the organizations are often contextual and culturally dependent.
Communication is useful in an organization such that they assist in building relationships and
also in interactions with other external organization.
Additionally, communication cannot just be about transmitting messages only, but also
it's what constitutes the social world. Communications are needed in resolving disputes where
individuals are forced to exchange information, which is a complex process of passing
information and involves negotiating rules that have been created by the world. For an
organization to be successful they must have effective communicators, people who can listen,
take instructions accurately and provide appropriate feedback (Foronda, MacWilliams, &
McArthur., 2016). They should also be able to interact well with other workmates, network,
develop ideas and also be able to solve problems. Therefore, communication in an organization
does not stop at sending and receiving messages but knowing how to create and exchange
information to achieve effective communication. There are several components necessary for
effective communication.
Components for effective communication
They include the following; encoding, the medium of transmission, decoding and
feedback (DeVito., 2019). Additionally, effective communication occurs when there are a sender
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and the receiver. Communications start with the sender and end with the receiver. The sender is
the individual who is responsible for initiating the message. Several attributes of the sender
affect the message like the attitudes, experience, skills and perceptions. How a message is going
to be relayed directly affect the decoding of the message by the receiver. The sender can decide
to use spoken written or the nonverbal words to pass their messages depending on how effective
the method is to ensure that the receiver interprets the messages as intended.
The first component by the sender is encoding the message. The sender aims to convey
meaning so they must encode the message, which means it is a form of translating information
into simple forms that can be easily understood by the receiver such as symbols that represent
ideas or concepts. The process of encoding, therefore, can translate ideas and concepts into a
message that can be able to be communicated. Symbols that represent ideas can be presented in
various forms, can be in the form of languages or gestures. Additionally, before the sender relays
their information they always have to understand the receiver of the message so that they can
convey the message based on their knowledge and assumptions and all factors that make the
receiver fit for that particular message. Therefore, the best way the sender will encode the
message is to relay the information in the receiver's point of view.
The message cannot successfully reach the receiver without a medium, and it should be
the correct medium so that the message can be delivered as intended. The medium means the
means through which the sender used to deliver the message. The most commonly used mediums
are oral and written. However, the visuals are also becoming more common due to the
advancement of technology. The type of medium to be used depends on the characteristics of the
information. When instant feedback is needed, oral communication is the most effective. In other
scenarios, both oral and the written are needed, but it is for one to complement the other.
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When appropriate channels are identified, the message goes to the decoding stage. The
decoding process is done by the receiver. The receiver starts to interpret the symbols from the
sender and through their own experiences, they can understand the meaning of the symbols of
the message they are receiving. Hoverer, communication is said to have been successful when
the receiver interprets the information from the sender correctly. The receiver is expected to
respond to the message, and this is referred to as feedback. They respond using signals which
may be in spoken, written, smile, or any other action.
Similarly, even a lack of response is still considered a response. Feedback is essential for
the sender to understand if the message has been interpreted correctly or not. In case they are not
well understood, the sender gets a chance to clarify what they meant about the message.
Additionally, feedback will help identify the significant barriers of communications, such as the
difference in interpretation and an emotional reaction. Effective communication is achieved if it
follows this process to the latter.
Importance of interprofessional collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration is working together with other professionals, which
constitutes different background, careers, families and culture within an organization.
Interprofessional collaboration is important in numerous ways. First, it empowers team members,
initial the doctor was taken as the only one to make critical decisions concerning the care of the
patient but through the interprofessional collaboration the other health care team such as the
nurses, radiologists, physiotherapist and the social workers can make a recommendation for the
care of the patient (Reeves et al., 2017).
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Second, it has enabled a comprehensive patient's care. As mentioned above that the
interprofessional collaboration enables all the healthcare professionals to work together in
ensuring effecting patient care. Through this, comprehensive patient care is achieved because the
patients' needs are understood holistically. Patients are the primary beneficiaries of
interprofessional collaboration because they will have teams on their side working together to
solve their needs, which will provide lasting results, as opposed to different health care team
taking turns. Additionally, the act of working together also promotes a team mentality, which
raises morale and encourages camaraderie.
The third is that it closes the communication gaps, and through this, the healthcare team
will work together; hence, a conducive communicative environment develops. Working
independent has a risk of several errors like misdiagnosis, miscommunication or missed needs of
the patient. Therefore, the closure of the communication gaps promotes the continuity of care
and also minimizes readmission of patients. A misdiagnosed patient will always come back, and
this will cost the patient more, but collaboration may achieve its objectives at the first contact.
Interpersonal communication and interprofessional collaboration
There are several components of interpersonal communication, and they are significant in
interprofessional collaboration. Verbal and non-verbal communication is the most used
components that interprofessional collaboration is successful (Foronda, MacWilliams, &
McArthur., 2016). When handling patients, the healthcare team speak to each other about the
symptoms, the needs of the patients and the management or the recommendations to help the
patient. In responding to some arguments, nonverbal communication is used. Listening skills are
needed for the individuals to provide appropriate feedback and even offering negotiations in
areas where one is not comfortable about or in providing clarity.
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Additionally, the interpersonal components also help in proper decision making about
patient care. Correct decision translates to effective problem-solving (DeVito., 2019). All these
are significant in promoting patient-centred care. And finally, it promotes assertiveness. Under
the interprofessional collaboration, one can build their confidence and also improves social
communication skills through the assertiveness.
Strategies to promote interprofessional collaboration
The interprofessional collaboration starts early. This means that the training of this
process should be initiated in school. It has been a norm that the nurses and doctors barely work
together but against each other. Therefore, encouraging that the students' doctors and the nurses
should be taught together and later in life. When they stay together for a long time, it builds a
bond which they will transfer it to the patient care.
Additionally, it is recommended that health care professionals should be taught on
assertive values and placing the patient's interests ahead of anything else and understand the
differences within the healthcare team. They should also leverage the roles assigned to different
individuals in the patient’s care; hence, this will help them appreciate each other. They should
learn to communicate with families, the patients and other professionals. Every individual is to
perform their roles effectively in a timely and equitable manner as expected of them.
Strategies to build the interpersonal team
For a capable interpersonal team, there should be clear goals that all members should
focus on achieving. Regarding this, every team member is given defined roles and contribution,
which are expected of them in achieving the desired goal. There should be effective
communication between the members, which should be clear and open. Effective decision
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making is strongly needed to make the organization moving, and through this, all the team
members should always be involved in every activity concerning the organization. The
organization should also appreciate the diversity regarding the culture, religion, beliefs and
thinking.
Conclusion
Communication is very vital in the survival of the human being. Animals are also known
to be communicating amongst themselves. The communication is referred to as sending or
receiving messages from one individual to the other. Several components ensure effective
communication is achieved. They include; encoding, a medium of transmission, decoding and
feedback. Encoding is done by the sender where they put the message they intend to relay into
simple symbols like speaking or using the nonverbal techniques. The mediums of transmission,
on the other hand, are the objects that ensure the message is delivered. The receiver of the
message should be able to decode the message and understand it as indented by the sender. They
are then expected to provide appropriate feedback.
Interprofessional collaboration is significant in health care in several ways, but the
ultimate goal is that they ensure effective patient care. It has allowed collective participation of
all the health care team where everyone directly participates in the care of the patient. It has
closed the communication gap and also reduced the hospital stay of the patients. Interpersonal
communication is also essential in ensuring effective interprofessional collaboration.
Communication is said to have effectively delivered when appropriate feedback is seen from the
receiver; therefore, everyone should be taught how to relay and interpret information to achieve
the expected goals of the organization.
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References
DeVito, J. A. (2019). The interpersonal communication book. Instructor, 1, 18.
Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in
healthcare: an integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 19, 36-40.
Reeves, S., Pelone, F., Harrison, R., Goldman, J., & Zwarenstein, M. (2017). Interprofessional
collaboration to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews, (6).
