Lack Of Effective Communication In Health Care

Introduction

Effective communication is a core clinical skill required for each and every doctor and patient. The word “communication” is defined as to “share, join, unite, or make understanding common” (Brindley & Reynolds, 2011). Being a good communicator is vital both for a healthcare provider and a patient, since the reason why patients often complain is the lack of effective communication (McCorry & Mason, 2011). Moreover, being able to communicate clearly does not actually mean to have a rich vocabulary or to use scientific terms and technical language, but effective communication skills are necessary for health care professionals to help their patients to be more adherent to medical recommendations and prescriptions (McCorry & Mason,

whenever patients encounter frequent visits to health care professionals (Beck et.al, 2002). Most often patients follow the treatment plan and carry out behavior change such as exercising or modifications in diets when they are informed about their health condition and are involved in decision making (Beck et al., 2002). This is true, simply because people tend to follow perceptions and decisions made by their own or with the help of professionals. For instance, one, probably, would not reduce alcohol consumption if he/she will not understand to what extent the human body can be damaged if this habit left unattended. When a patient realizes what are the potential negative outcomes he/she may face with, it would not be problematic for him/her to set priorities. This is why involvement in decision making should be used in a doctor’s office for the patient to be adherent to medical recommendations. In addition, this strategy considers patients as experts in their experiences which, in turn, gives recognition to patients (Pawlikowska et al.

Humor is like a coping device used by both clinicians and patients. Moreover, the use of humor is said to be helpful to avoid embarrassment, discomfort, anxiety, pain, and uncertainty (Wanzer et al., 2005). “If we didn’t use humor, we’d cry” say health care providers and even nurses have their own literature, The Journal of Nursing Jocularity, which helps to orient the health care on humor for a greater coping efficiency (Wanzer et al., 2005). It is said that “laughter prolongs life”, and the use of humor in health care context is an effective tool to cope stress for both clinicians and patients. In addition, research conducted by Wanzer et al. (2005) has shown that use of humor improves work relationships and has other positive outcomes on a provider-patient