Self-Reflection

Question

This is a first person point of view in a personal reflection. Explain how you can apply the knowledge from communication and information literacy towards effective communication within Health Administration. Explain areas of strength in communication you feel you will bring to Health Administration. Explain areas of opportunity that you can work on in regards to communication within health administration and why developing these communication skills will be important to you personally.

Answer

Applying Knowledge from Communication and Information Literacy towards Effective Communication within the Health Administration

The knowledge I have acquired from communication and information literacy is a very important ingredient in my endeavor to offering a patient-centered care and which is evidence-based. As noted by Norouzinia, Aghabarari and Shiri, an effective communication with patients is a key to their treatment and an avenue to high-quality care delivery (66). While undertaking this course, I learned of the various factors that act as barriers to effective communication and understanding between the health practitioner and the patients, and may include language and cultural issues, vision and hearing problems, reading and undiagnosed cognitive impairment, age, gender and being overworked.

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I will adopt a teach-back approach that will entail asking the clients to tell me what they want to understand or do about their health. This approach will help in ensuring that such clients understand the health-related instructions and information they need to know. Further, I understood that it was not enough to offer quality healthcare by simply telling patients what they should know. Rather, I will be telling them why they should know a given piece of information and important of abiding by it.

Areas of Strength in Communication I will take to Health Administration

The extant studies indicate that only less than a half of the patients remember and understand what practitioners explain to them. I will, therefore us my knowledge on the available tools for effective health communication in such cases. Notably, I will liaise with the healthcare facility management to ensure that effective health communication materials are developed. These materials will be designed in such a way that plain language is used, specific and concrete, information is limited to not more than five key points, visuals are used, and a summary repeating the key points is included (Deupree 4).

Additionally, Norouzinia, Aghabarari and Shiri noted that through effective communication, nurses freely interact and clearly understand the needs of the patients (66). My strong interpersonal skills will be the bonding point with the patients. I will us these skills to ensure that I earn their trust, in the first place, to elicit cooperative responses to the treatment plans. I will use a plain language that is positive, hopeful and empowering. I will breakdown my statements into short and important concept, seek for patients or the family’s ideas and thoughts and check for understanding.

Conflict resolution skills will also play a greater role in the healthcare setting. In a hospital, conflicts involving the staff, patients and the families are likely to arise. My communication abilities will help me engage all parties in a mature, logic and professional way to resolve issues.

Opportunity Areas to Work On

Poor communication has been linked to 15% of hospitalization (Norouzinia, Aghabarari and Shiri 66). Therefore, one area for improvement is the health literacy of patients. With the health literacy specialists, we will work to evaluate the education materials developed for patients for cultural and linguistic appropriateness. This understanding of patients’ health literacy will be useful to me because it leads to an improved provider-patient communication that is crucial for the best outcomes for clients as well as the reduction in unnecessary hospital readmissions. The second area on concern is the cultivation of a team spirit culture. As noted by the Adventist University of Health Sciences a team-oriented mentality is associated with job satisfaction and organizational performance (Para. 4). This teamwork will help in the promotion of safer environments for each nurse and patient, high morale, stress management and better quality of life, and greater job satisfaction.

Works Cited

Adventist University of Health Sciences. Interpersonal communication in nursing. 28 October 2018. https://aduonline.edu/interpersonal-communication-nursing/. 12 June 2017.

Deupree, Joy P. “Communicating effectively with diverse patient population.” 28 October 2017. Elsevier. https://www.elsevier.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/475400/Communicating-Effectively-with-Diverse-Patient-Populations.pdf. 2017.

Norouzinia, Roohangiz, et al. “Communication barriers perceived by nurses and patients.” Global Journal of Health Science, Vol. 8 (6) (2016): 65-74. doi: [10.5539/gjhs.v8n6p65].