Reading Area Community College  NUR 250 

1) How can you utilize therapeutic communication and effective use of communication technology in the care of clients?

2) How do you demonstrate accountability for development as a professional nursing student?

 

Answer:

1) How can you utilize therapeutic communication and effective use of communication technology in the care of clients?

Therapeutic communication is a series of techniques aimed at enhancing a patient's physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Nurses provide support and knowledge to patients while maintaining a professional detachment and objectivity. Nurses often use open-ended statements and questions, repeat details, or use silence in therapeutic communication to enable patients to solve issues on their own.

It may be beneficial to not talk at all at times. Deliberate silence will encourage both nurses and patients to consider and process what will happen next in the discussion. It can provide patients with the time and space they need to bring up a new topic. Nurses should still allow patients to speak up.

It's sometimes important to acknowledge what patients say in order to convince them that they've been noticed. Acceptance isn't always synonymous with agreement; often it's enough to simply make eye contact and say, Yes, I understand. Patients who think their nurses are paying attention to them and taking their issues seriously are more likely to accept care.

Without offering an overt praise, recognition recognizes and emphasizes a patient's conduct. When it comes to a mundane job like making the bed, a compliment can be misconstrued as condescending. Rather than needing a compliment, saying something like "I saw you took all of your medications" draws attention to the action and supports it.

Hospital stays can be lonely and stressful; when nurses volunteer their time, it demonstrates that they love their patients and that someone is able to devote time and energy to them. Staying for lunch, watching a television show, or just sitting with patients for a while will make them feel better.

When patients guide the flow of conversation and decide what to speak about, therapeutic communication is often most successful. Giving patients a wide opening, such as "What's on your mind today?" or "What would you like to talk about?" may be a good way to encourage patients to talk about what's on their minds.

Nurses may allow patients to continue talking by using nonverbal and verbal signals such as nodding and saying "I see." Showing interest in what patients have to say, recognizing that you're listening and learning, and communicating with them in the conversation is what active listening entails. Nurses may use general questions like "What happened next?" to help direct or advance the discussion.

Observations regarding a patient's appearance, mood, or actions may help to draw attention to areas that may be causing them problems. Observing that they seem exhausted may encourage patients to understand why they haven't been sleeping well recently; observing that they haven't been eating well may result in the discovery of a new symptom.

It may be beneficial to question patients about sensory issues or hallucinations in a nonjudgmental, encouraging manner. Patients can describe what they're hearing or seeing with phrases like "What do you hear now?" or "What does that look like to you?" that don't cast their thoughts in a derogatory light.

2) How do you demonstrate accountability for development as a professional nursing student?

We are living in a fascinating age. According to ethicists, there has been a shift in people's ability to take responsibility for their behavior. Instead, the atmosphere has been one of guilt. The problem of professional responsibility in nursing has become a source of concern in many healthcare settings, which is unsurprising. We speak about nursing professional accountability as if nurses would have the same meaning and understanding.

Make sure you understand your professional role's duties as well as the organization's objectives.

When I had a wise mentor, he once told me that the best way to start when dealing with a leadership issue was to go back to the basics. This, I say, is valid in terms of professional accountability. Don't presume that all professional nurses are aware of their duties or know what is required of them. If you ask questions about the position of an RN at a staff meeting, you may be shocked at what you learn, but more importantly, what you don't learn as part of role transparency.

Give instructions on how the job should be completed.

One of the most challenging challenges of leadership is transparency. You may believe you have communicated your objectives clearly, only to discover that they have been misunderstood. Nurses need to know how the job can be done from their supervisors, and once is not enough.

Establish a set of consistent criteria and metrics to determine professional success.

Nurse leaders must elicit dedication from their workers and establish role expectations. It's also said that what gets measured gets achieved, so be sure to spell out how role standards will be measured. Not only should job success be included in these expectations, but so should interpersonal skills.

Keep professionals liable for their acts.

The single most important problem with professional integrity, in my view, is that nurses are often not held accountable by their supervisors for their decisions and acts. Professional workers will come to work and fulfill their success goals with no leadership interference in the best of all possible worlds. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world, and nurse leaders must devote time to coaching their employees. The importance of early intervention in performance issues, as well as follow-up support, cannot be overstated.

Create an environment where people are held accountable.

Promoting personal accountability among employees requires creating a culture of professional accountability. When an organization's culture is "good enough," employees are aware of it. In Florida, I've testified as an expert witness for the state board of nursing. When employees are called up for disciplinary action for failing to meet expected standards of care in their conduct, one troubling truth that arises is that unprofessional behavior is often accepted by an employer for a long period of time. Team commitments and personal relationships must be held accountable.

Reference

Wachtel, P. L. (2011). Therapeutic communication: Knowing what to say when. Guilford Press.

Sherko, E., Sotiri, E., & Lika, E. (2013). Therapeutic communication. Jahr: Europski ?asopis za bioetiku, 4(1), 457-466.

Krautscheid, L. C. (2014). Defining professional nursing accountability: a literature review. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(1), 43-47.