Communication in Nursing (Research Paper Sample)

PATCHWORK TASK 2 – AN EXPLORATION OF A RELEVANT COMMUNICATION THEORY By Student Name Instructor Course Date of Submission Introduction  Communication is an important tool in every sector. Organizations deal with their clients through communication, and therefore, it is an important component in achieving the desired outcomes. There are several definitions of communications (Sloan, & Watson 2001, Heron 2001) with the most significant one provided by Sloan, & Watson (2001) who see communication as a two-way process in which patients are informed about the nature of their disease and treatment and are encouraged to express their anxieties and emotions (Sloan, & Watson 2001). To achieve desirable outcomes in the nursing profession, various models of communication have been developed to aid clinicians in understanding where there are problems and what should be done to achieve the desired results. This paper discusses the Six Category Intervention Analysis advocated by Humanist Psychologist John Heron. John Heron developed these interventions through which doctors could use in their interactions with patients. As noted in the definition of communication, it is clear that without communication, it would be impossible for a doctor to understand the problems of the patients. According to Bunker and Kowalski (2011), “therapeutic communication is an interaction that is helpful and healing for one or more of the participants; the client benefits from knowing that someone cares and understands, and the nurse derives satisfaction from knowing that he or she has been helpful to someone” (p.482). Effective use of the communication process (Bunker and Kowalski 2011) is important in the nursing career and is the foundation on which interpersonal relationships anchors. Communication has two components, verbal and non-verbal (Burnard & Morrison 1991). Verbal communication is the most used and significant form of communication as doctors and nurses can exchanges sound messages in a way that they can understand each other better. Non-verbal communication uses signals, gestures, body language, and facial expression among other signals. It can be problematic at times for people to understand each other well if signs are used in the communication process. In some cases, for instance, some signs can have different meanings as used by various cultural groups (Sloan, & Watson 2001, Heron 2001, Bunker and Kowalski 2011). Despite the challenges of each form of communication, it is important that the massages transmitted are decoded in the right way (Burnard & Morrison 1988). In this way, any intervention will be based on the right information as shared between the healthcare provider and the patients. John Heron’s Six Intervention Model A nursing intervention has been defined as “any treatment, based upon clinical judgement and knowledge that a nurse performs to enhance patient or client outcomes” (Barrere and Helming 2013: 156). According to Heron, intervention is any identifiable piece of verbal or non-verbal behaviour that takes place between the nurse and the patient, and which is aimed at helping the patient in the healing process (Sloan, & Watson 2001, Heron 2001). The Six Category Intervention Analysis is provided as a conceptual framework for enhancing interpersonal relationship and as a means of analysing possible therapeutic mechanisms between the practitioner and the patient (Burnard & Morrison 1991). The model puts more emphasis on what the practitioner intents to achieve in his or her interaction with the client, instead of the actual effect (Heron 2001). Heron's model has two basic categories or styles: - Authoritative and Facilitative Intervention. These two categories are further breakdown into six categories to describe how practitioners can intervene when giving helping to the clients. Authoritative intervention consists of three categories, which include Prescriptive, Informative, and Confronting (Morrison & Burnard 1989). On the other hand, the facilitative intervention has three components namely; Cathartic, Catalytic and Supportive Interventions (Heron 2001). Heron’s (2001) authoritative interventions are so called because the health care provider has to define the moral values and beliefs from the perspective of the client. This will help the practitioner take a directive role; assume more responsibility on behalf of the patient. This intervention is also used to impart knowledge to the patients, and raise awareness of the limited behaviour that the patients are unaware of (Ashmore & Banks 2004). As the name suggests, the practitioner takes an authoritative or leading role, making decision for and on behalf of the client. If the help that the practitioner is providing to the patient is described as ‘authoritative’ it means the nurse practitioner is providing all the information, challenging the patents and even suggesting what the patient must do in a given situation. The authoritative intervention are called so because they are hierarchical in nature, which means the practitioner takes charge of all the decisions, guiding behaviour of the client, providing directions of what the patients should do and raising their consciousness. Under this intervention situation, Heron (2001) identified three sub-intervention scenarios in helping the client. Prescriptive The first is what he called prescriptive intervention. Under prescriptive intervention, the healthcare provider explicitly seeks to control the behaviour of the patient. This is achieved by guiding and directing the behaviour of the patient (Heron 2001). For instance, the practitioner gives the client advice and guidance in several aspects of the treatment procedure. It is the dusty of the practitioner, because of his or her knowledge and training, to show how the patient should behave as well as telling them what they should do in any situation (Ashmore & Banks 2004). Informative Intervention The second category is what Heron termed as informative intervention. In this case, the practitioner seeks to impart knowledge and relevant information as well as meaning to the client. This is done by giving the patients instructions on with to do or what not to do. The practitioner has relevant information gained from experience or personal opinion which can greatly help the patients (Bunker and Kowalski 2011). Therefore, the practitioner is expected to provide any background information that could be relevant to the current client situation (Heron 2001). All principles are explained to the patient in away that he or she can understand. In this way, the client is presented with enough information to get a better understanding of his or her condition. Confronting The last category is confronting intervention. Here, the caregiver seeks to raise the awareness of the patient concerning some of the attitudes that can be limiting from the patient. Sometimes the client might not be aware that his or her behaviour is hindering or obstructing optimal care. Therefore, the practitioner should intervene by challenging the client by direct feedback (Heron 2001). However, the practitioner should be cautious of making any personal attack to the client as this can worsen the situation. The practitioner plays an important role in helping and shaping the behaviour of the patient. The practitioner informs the patient of those things he or she thinks are holding the client back. In addition, the practitioner helps the client avoid repeating the same mistakes in future. Therefore, confronting method is important since it improves the outcomes for both the patient and the care provider (Bunker and Kowalski 2011). Facilitative Intervention The second category of intervention is called by the researcher as facilitative interventions for they lack hierarchy (Ashmore & Banks 2004), unlike authoritative interventions. Facilitative intervention methods are geared towards making the patient more autonomous and take charge over their behaviour. They are therefore client-centred as emphasis is placed on the patients to take full responsibility for themselves and the direction of their support. For instance, the practitioner helps the client to release the emotional pain that might be hindering their personal power. There are several categories of intervention under facilitative approach as provided by Heron. These include Cathartic, Catalytic and supporting interventions. Cathartic Intervention In the cathartic approach, patients release painful emotions of anger, fear and grief. It also helps patients to be self-aware through reflection and seeks to assert the worth and value of the patients qualities, attitudes and actions. The practitioner assists the patient to express any feelings that they might have or any fears that they might be carrying within themselves (Ashmore & Banks1997, Bunker and Kowalski 2011).). In addition, the practitioner empathizes with the clients in their situation. The process or method used by the care provider provides a platform fro the clients to wilfully express themselves in away that enhances the therapeutic process.  In catalytic intervention approach, the practitioner seeks help the client learn, grow, and achieve self-problem solving skills. The role of the practitioner is to instil “self-discovery, self-directed, learning, and problem-solving in the client” (Heron 2001:118). Under the catalytic method, the practitioner should be keen to do several things to achieve good outcomes. First, the practitioner should ask guiding questions to encourage fresh thinking from the client. Secondly, the practitioner should encourage the other person to identify new solutions or options (Heron 2001). Lastly, it is critical that the practitioner to listen carefully to the concerns or any issue that the patient might be having (Ashmore 1999). The practitioner should listen, summarize and continue to listen some more and ensure ...