communication Flashcards
why is good communication important in palliative care?
- to foster relationships and promote optimal support in care management
- positive impact on emotional health
- motivates and creates satisfaction for the HCPs
nursing responsibilities (professional):
demonstrate caring, respect, deep listening, authenticity and trust
- assess own communication ability
- continuous improvement of communication skills
- utilize alternate strategies for communication difficulties
- convey accurate information
- maintain interprofessional team communication
what is emotional intelligence?
- correct identification of emotions in oneself and others
- the use of emotion to facilitate reasoning
- understanding emotions, managing emotions
nursing roles (behaviour):
- being present
- connecting
- affirming and valuing
- acknowledge vulnerability
- utilizing intuition
- providing serenity and silence
what is self awareness?
knowledge about ourselves, our motives and how these translate into our behaviour
communicative skills in palliative care
- active listening
- summarizing
- paraphrasing
- empathy
- clarifying
- silence
- acknowledgement
- encouragement
why active listening?
it allows the message to be heard and acknowledged
what is summarizing?
- stopping at intervals throughout the conversation (and at the end) to summarize what has been spoken
- to check the patient/loved one and yourself have shared common understanding and agreement
- provides additional time to think
what is paraphrasing?
- repeat what the patient/loved one has said, using your own words
- demonstrates active listening
- allows patient/loved one to correct any inaccuracies/misunderstandings
what is empathy?
- to recognise how another person might be feeling
- “experience of walking in another person’s shoes”
what is clarifying?
- to ensure clarity about what has been said and the meaning is well understood by the professional
- provides opportunity for patient to reflect on what they said and make sense of the situation
why silence?
- can be uncomfortable to many of us
- allow quiet reflection and taking stick of the conversation
- make some sense of what is happening and form next questions
how do we acknowledge the patient?
- words, expression and intonation that demonstrates interest or understanding
how do we encourage the patient?
- positively encourage patient to continue talking
- promote further possibility of disclosure
- “could you tell me more?”, “please go on”, “help me to understand”
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: TOUCH
+ve: to reassure a distressed patient
-ve: when the touch is misinterpreted or inappropriate
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: BODY MOVEMENT
+ve: head nodding to encourage a patient to talk about their concern
-ve: shrugging shoulders in response to a question
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: USING SPACE
+ve: coming down to the patient’s level to talk to them
-ve: standing at the foot of the bed to hold a conversation
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC
+ve: wearing a clean uniform, appropriate hair, nails etc
-ve: appearing untidy, paying little attention to physical appearance
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: SURROUNDINGS
+ve: a quiet conversation in a private room
-ve: having a conversation in an open, non-private space
non-verbal communication: positive & negative: VOCALICS
+ve: using a soft, gentle, slow tone to break bad news
-ve: loud, aggressive tones
SPIKESS protocol
setting
patient
perception
invitation
knowledge
emotions
summary
strategy
- to gather information from patient and family
- to provide medical info
- to support patient and family
ask-tell-ask protocol
ask patient and family what they know and understand
tell the patient medical information
ask about their emotions
