Midwife Communication
“What can I take away from the experience of observing this video that will help me build knowledge and self awareness in therapeutic communication?”
The video focuses on the communication techniques undertaken by an experienced midwife whilst dealing with a mother who has suffered a stroke during her pregnancy and subsequently has difficulty communicating. There are a number of behaviors and techniques displayed that highlight the importance of continually developing effective therapeutic communication techniques. First of all it is clear throughout the video that the midwife maintains a calming and comforting demeanor, speaking softly with the patient and ensuring that her body language is positive. The midwife focuses on ensuring that the patient …show more content…
and her family understand that there is no current risk to the baby and is pro-active in answering any questions that arise in relation to the mother’s condition and how any changes in that condition may affect both her and the baby.
The topic of therapeutic communication in health has been well researched and it involves more than verbal communication and is based on non-verbal triggers also (Price, 2013).
The midwife in this video displays elements of efficient therapeutic communication such as good calm tone of voice, comfort touch and open body language. The most important aspect I took from the video was the need to have accomplished therapeutic communication skills to reassure a patient in a high stress situation. The patient requires from you, as a healthcare provider, to be able to trust what you are telling them is correct. Patients who are unable to communicate themselves are at a higher risk of health disparity (Abib- Hajbaghery& Rezai-Shahsavarloo 2014) so more effort needs to be made when communicating to ensure this gap is bridged. Having analyzed the video I now understand that the midwife was able to provide a level of reassurance to the patient and family through therapeutic communication. The midwife explained at each step of the process what she was doing and why she was doing it which gave the family comfort. More than ever, health practitioners require highly developed communication skills to foster a therapeutic relationship, and that by developing this relationship means a patient feels more comfortable with you and feels they are able
to open up more and divulge more information, (Doherty & Thompson, 2014 ) in turn this means you are able to offer a better standard of care. Without the use of therapeutic communication you may not be able to develop a valuable relationship with your patient. Therapeutic communication is indicated by Kleier (2013) to be patient centered as opposed to provider-centered, meaning that the communication focuses on open ended questioning, empathy and other techniques, and this has been associated with better long-term outcomes for the patient. The midwife in the video shows empathy to the patient and family by showing her understanding of the number of different people that the patient has had to see since arriving at the hospital. An article titled “An Empirical model of therapeutic effectiveness” by Chochinov et.al ( 2013 ), looks at a model that comprises of primary domains and overlapping or hybrid domains as a means in monitoring your ability to be an effective therapeutic communicator. In this instance it is for cancer patients but could easily be transferred to other areas of the health sector. I found this to be a useful tool as it looks at managing yourself and your own personal growth and self care as part of the model and recognizes that to be able to provide properly for your patients you need to take care of yourself and be able to look within yourself and acknowledge your own fears and feelings.
From watching this video I have developed my understanding of the importance of therapeutic communication. I for instance am quite tall, so it would be necessary to ensure when I am dealing with patients I lower my height so that I am on a level par with them and do not stand over them. I also have the tendency to speak in a loud voice, so would need to be mindful of the patient and situation when speaking to ensure that my tone is in keeping with the current situation. I feel I would be able to bring an empathetic response to this situation as I do feel I can identify with the patient. To show empathy towards the patient I would practice active listening to ensure the patient is aware that I am listening to their questions, concerns or recount of a story. In this situation I would also want to confirm that the patient understands what we have discussed. I would clarify details with them and ask them questions to confirm their understanding, this is important in high stress situations as a patient may be unable to take everything in based on one conversation, and their understanding is essential. I would also make further attempts to communicate directly with the patient, which would help to further reassure her and assist in helping to keep her calm. Prior to watching the video I would not have realized that some things that seem like small things make a vast difference when it comes to rapport building and therapeutic communication with a patient.
References
Abib-Hajbaghery, M.and Rezai-Shahsavarloo, Z. (2014) Assessing the nursing and midwifery students competencies in communication with patients with severe communication problems, Nursing and Midwifery Study 3(2) 1-7 doi
10.1111/jjns.12057.
Chochinov, H.M., Mcclement S.E., Hack, T.F., Mckeen, N.A., Rach, A.M., Gagnon, P.,
Sinclair, S. and Taylor-Brown, J.(2013) An empirical model of therapeutic effective communication, Cancer, 1706-13 doi 10.1002/cncr.27949
Doherty, M. and Thompson, H. (2014) Enhancing person centered care through the development of a therapeutic relationship, British Journal of Community Nursing, 19
(10), 503-507 http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2014.19.10.502
Kleier, J.A. (2013), Disarming the patient through therapeutic communication, Urologic
Nursing 33c(3), 110,133 doi 10.7257/1053-816X.2013.33.3.110
Price, C. (2013) Effective communication in midwifery, British Journal of Midwifery, 21 (6),
454 http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2013.21.6.454
The video focuses on the communication techniques undertaken by an experienced midwife whilst dealing with a mother who has suffered a stroke during her pregnancy and subsequently has difficulty communicating. There are a number of behaviors and techniques displayed that highlight the importance of continually developing effective therapeutic communication techniques. First of all it is clear throughout the video that the midwife maintains a calming and comforting demeanor, speaking softly with the patient and ensuring that her body language is positive. The midwife focuses on ensuring that the patient …show more content…
and her family understand that there is no current risk to the baby and is pro-active in answering any questions that arise in relation to the mother’s condition and how any changes in that condition may affect both her and the baby.
The topic of therapeutic communication in health has been well researched and it involves more than verbal communication and is based on non-verbal triggers also (Price, 2013).
The midwife in this video displays elements of efficient therapeutic communication such as good calm tone of voice, comfort touch and open body language. The most important aspect I took from the video was the need to have accomplished therapeutic communication skills to reassure a patient in a high stress situation. The patient requires from you, as a healthcare provider, to be able to trust what you are telling them is correct. Patients who are unable to communicate themselves are at a higher risk of health disparity (Abib- Hajbaghery& Rezai-Shahsavarloo 2014) so more effort needs to be made when communicating to ensure this gap is bridged. Having analyzed the video I now understand that the midwife was able to provide a level of reassurance to the patient and family through therapeutic communication. The midwife explained at each step of the process what she was doing and why she was doing it which gave the family comfort. More than ever, health practitioners require highly developed communication skills to foster a therapeutic relationship, and that by developing this relationship means a patient feels more comfortable with you and feels they are able
to open up more and divulge more information, (Doherty & Thompson, 2014 ) in turn this means you are able to offer a better standard of care. Without the use of therapeutic communication you may not be able to develop a valuable relationship with your patient. Therapeutic communication is indicated by Kleier (2013) to be patient centered as opposed to provider-centered, meaning that the communication focuses on open ended questioning, empathy and other techniques, and this has been associated with better long-term outcomes for the patient. The midwife in the video shows empathy to the patient and family by showing her understanding of the number of different people that the patient has had to see since arriving at the hospital. An article titled “An Empirical model of therapeutic effectiveness” by Chochinov et.al ( 2013 ), looks at a model that comprises of primary domains and overlapping or hybrid domains as a means in monitoring your ability to be an effective therapeutic communicator. In this instance it is for cancer patients but could easily be transferred to other areas of the health sector. I found this to be a useful tool as it looks at managing yourself and your own personal growth and self care as part of the model and recognizes that to be able to provide properly for your patients you need to take care of yourself and be able to look within yourself and acknowledge your own fears and feelings.
From watching this video I have developed my understanding of the importance of therapeutic communication. I for instance am quite tall, so it would be necessary to ensure when I am dealing with patients I lower my height so that I am on a level par with them and do not stand over them. I also have the tendency to speak in a loud voice, so would need to be mindful of the patient and situation when speaking to ensure that my tone is in keeping with the current situation. I feel I would be able to bring an empathetic response to this situation as I do feel I can identify with the patient. To show empathy towards the patient I would practice active listening to ensure the patient is aware that I am listening to their questions, concerns or recount of a story. In this situation I would also want to confirm that the patient understands what we have discussed. I would clarify details with them and ask them questions to confirm their understanding, this is important in high stress situations as a patient may be unable to take everything in based on one conversation, and their understanding is essential. I would also make further attempts to communicate directly with the patient, which would help to further reassure her and assist in helping to keep her calm. Prior to watching the video I would not have realized that some things that seem like small things make a vast difference when it comes to rapport building and therapeutic communication with a patient.
References
Abib-Hajbaghery, M.and Rezai-Shahsavarloo, Z. (2014) Assessing the nursing and midwifery students competencies in communication with patients with severe communication problems, Nursing and Midwifery Study 3(2) 1-7 doi
10.1111/jjns.12057.
Chochinov, H.M., Mcclement S.E., Hack, T.F., Mckeen, N.A., Rach, A.M., Gagnon, P.,
Sinclair, S. and Taylor-Brown, J.(2013) An empirical model of therapeutic effective communication, Cancer, 1706-13 doi 10.1002/cncr.27949
Doherty, M. and Thompson, H. (2014) Enhancing person centered care through the development of a therapeutic relationship, British Journal of Community Nursing, 19
(10), 503-507 http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2014.19.10.502
Kleier, J.A. (2013), Disarming the patient through therapeutic communication, Urologic
Nursing 33c(3), 110,133 doi 10.7257/1053-816X.2013.33.3.110
Price, C. (2013) Effective communication in midwifery, British Journal of Midwifery, 21 (6),
454 http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2013.21.6.454