‘Discuss the communication methods that nurses use to understand and respond to people’s personal and health needs.’
“Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication methods, and consider cultural sensitivities, to better understand and respond to people’s personal and health needs”
The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code 2015 (NMC) aims to guide nurses on what is expected of them, to help them apply the best practice available when providing care for their patients. It is what every nurse should strive to achieve. An extract from the NMC code states “Use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication methods, and consider cultural sensitivities, to better understand and respond to people’s personal and health needs”. This essay will discuss factors that can impede effective communication, and in doing so, discuss some of the different methods of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques used by nurses
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This means to listen to what someone is saying to you, not only to hear the words, but to hear the message behind it (Porritt 1984.) An example of this is a nurse trying to find out why a patient is behaving aggressively. For a nurse who is not participating in active listening, they may brush it off as the person’s personality, ‘Oh look Mr Brown is being unpleasant to the nurses again’. Whereas a nurse who is participating in active listening may come to the conclusion that he is behaving this way out of anxiety about an upcoming procedure. Research also shows that by using reflective listening techniques it can improve a patient’s satisfaction, as they are more likely to feel supported by the practitioner (Pollak et al. 2011.) This is extremely important as clearly this will lead to a better practitioner-patient rapport and supports the statement by the NMC code which says that using a range of verbal and non-verbal techniques is the best approach to meeting a patient’s personal and health