Critique Of Interview

Critique of Interview on Usage of Communication Techniques

An important procedure for nurses is “getting to know” their clients so they can discover any health problems the client may be facing. During interviews, it important for the nurse to understand what the client is trying to express; and it is important for the clients to be able to communicate their health issues. Nurses should have the ability to understand and apply therapeutic communication skills so they can facilitate clients in communicating their health issues. We will explore the strengths, weaknesses, and any future improvements to my interviewing skills based on an interview I have conducted with a fellow classmate.

Methods

I have conducted an interview with a fellow classmate,

To demonstrate active listening, I attempted to give Mr. X my undivided attention. Arnold (2016) states that “[active listening] means temporary suspending your own reactions as you listen” (p. 80). As I listened to my client, I tried to envision what they are saying in my mind, and I did not attempt to write down notes while they were speaking to me. Another verbal technique that I used was clarification. Arnold also states that clarification is a listening tool that is important in promoting clients to further elaborate on information that has touched on but not thoroughly fleshed out. An example of the usage of clarification in my interview was after Mr. X informed me that he is struggling with his school assignments. I replied to Mr. X, “so, how are you struggling [with your assignments]?”. In this circumstance, I wanted to promote my client to elaborate on the nature of the problems he is dealing with. Another verbal technique that I used was restatement. My client mentioned that he became more stressed since his admission to nursing school so I attempted to restate that a recent change in his life was nursing school. Arnold states that “[restatement can] provide a sharper focus on a specific part of the communication” (p. 87). By restating Mr. X’s recent acceptance into nursing school, I attempted to facilitate Mr. X in focusing on this change. Besides

X, I employed some non-verbal techniques to encourage communication. Some of the key non-verbal techniques I used was controlling the environment, my facial expressions, and level of eye contact. Moreira, Azevedo, Figueiredo, Oliveira, & Araújo (2017) states that “[in public distance] the angle of vision…[is] impaired, [and] the tone of voice must be elevated” (p. 347). When I conducted my interview, I booked a private room for Mr. X. By reserving private room, I could ensure that Mr. X had privacy, and I minimized any distracting noise in the environment. Another non-verbal technique I used was I mimicked Mr. X’s facial expressions and the amount of eye contact he provided. Astle, Barton, Johnson, & Mill (2014) states that one’s culture can influence the comfortable level of eye contact that one shares. By mimicking Mr. X, I believe that I maintained a level of eye contact that Mr. X feels comfortable with, while expressing a degree of active