Nursing Home Based Communication Setting
This assessment will identify two methods of communication which would have maximised the impact of the outlined communication setting. Reference will be made to relevant literature and a short reflective account will explain how the chosen forms of communication can be useful as inclusive strategies for service users.
Two months ago I was asked to attend a Family Forum meeting at my current place of work. These provide an opportunity for friends/relatives to come together with several staff members (including a manager) every month to discuss any developments within the service, or any other business affecting them and their family members. Once everything on the agenda was covered, I took my cue to highlight the topic of activities within the Nursing Home. This was a good opportunity to ask family members if they had any new requests for activities for their relative living within the Nursing Home. Almost instantly the manager chairing the meeting replied that she thought there was more than enough being done in …show more content…
that area and dismissed the topic. Overall the meeting had been going well up until this point, but I felt that service users interests weren’t being promoted during. 'Effective communication is not just about exchanging information; it 's also about understanding the emotion behind the information. ' (www.help-guide.org.) It is a '...transaction whereby participants together create meanings through the exchange of symbols. ' (Fielding 2005).
In meetings effective communication is important because regular meetings are a great way to improve communication and even increase staff competence and performance. (Rabinowitz 2011.) Setting up a structured forum is important for ‘addressing challenges, maintaining morale and communicating best practices.’ (Rabinowitz, as cited by Miller, 2011)
How we put our point across in situations may depend on how effectively we assert ourselves. If we are too shy or retiring people may take advantage of us. On the other hand if we are too pushy or over bearing we are at risk of making people isolate themselves from us. (Thompson 1996). Looking back on the meeting, assertive verbal communication on my part could have maximised the impact of the communication. Dismissal of my question annoyed me since such a big deal had been made to have an activity staff member in attendance and the only point I expressed wasn’t taken into consideration. (Ellis 2003) states that assertive behaviours help protect both parties ' rights. My rights weren’t acknowledged in this case and I was left to feel at a loss.
Transactional Analysis may attempt to explain my lack of assertiveness during the meeting. Eric Berne developed the psychological model which is focused on the idea that we store events, emotions and feelings within us which can be recalled as if they were stored on tape (Ellis 2003.) The ‘tapes’ from our childhood are extremely important – these can be relived, for example by recalling our childhood observations of ‘parental’ behaviour. (Ellis 2003.) Berne further suggested that three 'ego ' states can be seen in human behaviour: the child, parent and the adult. Several different behaviours can be displayed under these states. Transactional Analysis maintains that the 'Critical Parent ' state can initiate the child state. This may explain my lack of assertiveness during the meeting; it could be argued that my decision to say nothing displayed these childlike behaviours in response to critical parent ones.
Another method which may have maximised the impact of communication is non-verbal communication. This type of communication involves using our body language to send ‘an additional set of signals above and beyond the verbal messages given.’ (Thompson 1996 p93). In this interaction specifically there was a lack of eye contact. Perhaps orientation and the layout of the meeting was the reason for this. (Thompson 1996) suggested that a lack of eye contact could signify disapproval, boredom, a lack of interest, confidence or assertiveness. This may explain why the manager did not face me or make any eye contact during the communication situation discussed. This could be interpreted as disapproval on her part or a lack of interest. Eye contact has three main functions (skillsyouneed.com): giving and receiving feedback, giving someone else cue to speak, and communicating something about relationships between people. The communication between the manager and myself may have been more effective if we were face to face, giving way for eye contact and in turn allowing feedback to be given and received. Additionally, the layout of the meeting would have been a good start to improving eye contact.
Short Reflective Account
If I had used assertive verbal communication in the meeting I could have pushed further to gain feedback from the relatives in attendance. This would have been an inclusive strategy for the service users in my workplace because I was posing a question which service users were at the heart of. Finding out more activities they like to do, or interests they have directly from their relatives would have been a good means of providing activities which are specific to their wants and needs. My decision to try and gain this information was underpinned by the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice. The very first code outlines the workers duty to promote the interests of service users. By asking this question I was attempting to uphold this code, but because I didn’t assert my point further it could be argued that I did not accomplish this goal.
Word count: 890
Annotated Bibliography
This piece of work will attempt to explore the use of 3 different sources I used to research my chosen area of study – verbal and non-verbal communication. Included throughout will be details of how I sourced these items and an analysis of their content. I aimed to find explanations for my lack of assertiveness during the meeting referred to in the essay, and gain skills required for communicating assertively. In addition methods of non-verbal communication were explored more in depth. The reason for this was to find out about different methods of communicating which could have maximised the impact of communication during the meeting. Lastly the importance of a team meeting will be outlined, as well as new learning and any unanswered questions I still had.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html(date accessed 07/11/13)
I sourced this website using an internet search engine.
I typed the words ' 'non-verbal communication skills ' ' in the Google search bar. From the list of website suggestions given I chose 'www.skillsyouneed.com. ' Clicking on this link directed me straight to the section on non-verbal communication. This page gives thorough explanations of several different types of non-verbal communication. The paragraph on eye contact explains the importance of this non-verbal skill and the purpose it serves when communicating. This assists the reader in understanding the outcome if the person receiving information lacks eye contact or averts their attention. The use of dividers and also headings for each section made the particular area I was looking for easy to find. This website is aimed at a wide range of people, from students to professionals or even those looking for work. It is a helpful source for anyone looking to improve their interpersonal
skills.
Ellis, R (2002.) Communication Skills: Stepladders to Success for the Professional (pp. 44-56) Bristol: Intellect Books
I sourced this book from West College library. In the search catalogue I typed "assertiveness in communication. ' '
This chapter and the book itself involved reading that is more complex than anything I have referenced in previous study but still simple for me to understand. It not only explains assertiveness in communication but provides a section on 'Training ourselves to become more assertive. ' This was of particular use to me since this is an area I need to improve in.
This is because Ellis adopts a friendly tone which involves the reader, by using words like 'we ' and 'our. ' He also provides very good links at the end of a section which make the relationship to previous sub sections understandable. The overall book includes plenty of figures and examples which can be referred to.
Rabinowitz, E. (2011). Staff meetings improve communication, staff efficiency. Healthcare Professionals Network. Retrieved from: http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money-digest/blogs/financial-health-check-up/0911/Staff-Meetings-Improve-Communication-Enhance-Efficiency This journal was obtained online through a search engine. I entered ‘communication in team meetings’ into the search box. A healthcare journal hyperlink took my interest. I was directed the article headed ‘Staff meetings improve communication, Enhance efficiency.’ The text includes recommendations for making team meetings effective and the positive developments that can come from meetings. Of particular focus is how to encourage staff involvement in meetings. The article is made interesting by encouraging the reader to imagine themselves in various work/team settings. This journal is intended for healthcare professionals, particularly specialists. However it could also be very useful for social care workers or any other role where team working is key. Although the source is aimed at professionals, the writer’s relaxed tone and use of vocabulary is user friendly.
Comparison and Contrast
The two most useful items sourced were the life skills website and the short book on communication skills. The website suggests that non-assertiveness can be seen as using inefficient communication skills. Central to this page is the protecting of one’s rights by using assertive interpersonal skills.
This author suggests that if we don’t act assertively, we can learn from that situation by always reflecting. Ellis’ ‘Communication Skills’ is also focused on the idea that assertiveness is about protecting your own rights.
Both sources were easy to take information from with the use of sub headings, short paragraphs and bullet pointed lists. For both sources non-verbal signals are used more than verbal to communicate information. They are also in agreement that assertiveness is about safeguarding your personal rights and finding the balance between passive and aggressive is essential for communicating in team meetings. The short book provides the reader with many more examples of how to communicate assertively and suggestions of assertive behaviour. In contrast, Ellis assures that if we don’t communicate assertively, we can learn from and improve on this as long as we are able to reflect on the situation. However, the Life Skills website puts failing to act this way down to inefficiently use of communication skills. The short book was most useful because it provided a theory to back up information and help the reader understand assertive behaviour.
New Learning
From referencing the literature related to my research, I have learned about several new skills which will be useful for me out in practice. Ellis’ ‘Communication Skills’ was extremely useful for exploring reasons behind my lack of assertiveness. On reading the sub section on Transactional Analysis, I understood better why I had chosen to retire from pushing my point further forward during the meeting. From now on consideration of Ellis’ list of rights will assist me when trying to communicate more assertively. Overall I have learned how to research more effectively, particularly with finding journals as I had never referenced these before. Once finished researching, I realised that I needed to be more selective and careful when choosing information because time can quite often be wasted searching for information and ideas that aren’t specific to the area of study.
949 words
Reference List for Communication Essay
Ellis, R, (2003) Communication Skills: Stepladders to success for the professional. Bristol: Intellect Books
Fielding, M, (2005). Effective Communication in Organizations: Preparing Messages that Communicate. Juta and Company Ltd http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.htm [date accessed: 11-11-13]
Rabinowitz, E (2011). Staff Meetings Improve Communication, Enhance Efficiency. Healthcare Professionals Network http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money-digest/blogs/financial-health-check-up/0911/Staff-Meetings-Improve-Communication-Enhance-Efficiency Scottish Social Services Council, (2009). Codes of Practice. Dundee
Skills You Need: Non Verbal Communication http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html [date accessed 03-11-13]
Thompson, N (1996). People Skills: A Guide to Effective Practice in the Human Services. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd
Two months ago I was asked to attend a Family Forum meeting at my current place of work. These provide an opportunity for friends/relatives to come together with several staff members (including a manager) every month to discuss any developments within the service, or any other business affecting them and their family members. Once everything on the agenda was covered, I took my cue to highlight the topic of activities within the Nursing Home. This was a good opportunity to ask family members if they had any new requests for activities for their relative living within the Nursing Home. Almost instantly the manager chairing the meeting replied that she thought there was more than enough being done in …show more content…
that area and dismissed the topic. Overall the meeting had been going well up until this point, but I felt that service users interests weren’t being promoted during. 'Effective communication is not just about exchanging information; it 's also about understanding the emotion behind the information. ' (www.help-guide.org.) It is a '...transaction whereby participants together create meanings through the exchange of symbols. ' (Fielding 2005).
In meetings effective communication is important because regular meetings are a great way to improve communication and even increase staff competence and performance. (Rabinowitz 2011.) Setting up a structured forum is important for ‘addressing challenges, maintaining morale and communicating best practices.’ (Rabinowitz, as cited by Miller, 2011)
How we put our point across in situations may depend on how effectively we assert ourselves. If we are too shy or retiring people may take advantage of us. On the other hand if we are too pushy or over bearing we are at risk of making people isolate themselves from us. (Thompson 1996). Looking back on the meeting, assertive verbal communication on my part could have maximised the impact of the communication. Dismissal of my question annoyed me since such a big deal had been made to have an activity staff member in attendance and the only point I expressed wasn’t taken into consideration. (Ellis 2003) states that assertive behaviours help protect both parties ' rights. My rights weren’t acknowledged in this case and I was left to feel at a loss.
Transactional Analysis may attempt to explain my lack of assertiveness during the meeting. Eric Berne developed the psychological model which is focused on the idea that we store events, emotions and feelings within us which can be recalled as if they were stored on tape (Ellis 2003.) The ‘tapes’ from our childhood are extremely important – these can be relived, for example by recalling our childhood observations of ‘parental’ behaviour. (Ellis 2003.) Berne further suggested that three 'ego ' states can be seen in human behaviour: the child, parent and the adult. Several different behaviours can be displayed under these states. Transactional Analysis maintains that the 'Critical Parent ' state can initiate the child state. This may explain my lack of assertiveness during the meeting; it could be argued that my decision to say nothing displayed these childlike behaviours in response to critical parent ones.
Another method which may have maximised the impact of communication is non-verbal communication. This type of communication involves using our body language to send ‘an additional set of signals above and beyond the verbal messages given.’ (Thompson 1996 p93). In this interaction specifically there was a lack of eye contact. Perhaps orientation and the layout of the meeting was the reason for this. (Thompson 1996) suggested that a lack of eye contact could signify disapproval, boredom, a lack of interest, confidence or assertiveness. This may explain why the manager did not face me or make any eye contact during the communication situation discussed. This could be interpreted as disapproval on her part or a lack of interest. Eye contact has three main functions (skillsyouneed.com): giving and receiving feedback, giving someone else cue to speak, and communicating something about relationships between people. The communication between the manager and myself may have been more effective if we were face to face, giving way for eye contact and in turn allowing feedback to be given and received. Additionally, the layout of the meeting would have been a good start to improving eye contact.
Short Reflective Account
If I had used assertive verbal communication in the meeting I could have pushed further to gain feedback from the relatives in attendance. This would have been an inclusive strategy for the service users in my workplace because I was posing a question which service users were at the heart of. Finding out more activities they like to do, or interests they have directly from their relatives would have been a good means of providing activities which are specific to their wants and needs. My decision to try and gain this information was underpinned by the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice. The very first code outlines the workers duty to promote the interests of service users. By asking this question I was attempting to uphold this code, but because I didn’t assert my point further it could be argued that I did not accomplish this goal.
Word count: 890
Annotated Bibliography
This piece of work will attempt to explore the use of 3 different sources I used to research my chosen area of study – verbal and non-verbal communication. Included throughout will be details of how I sourced these items and an analysis of their content. I aimed to find explanations for my lack of assertiveness during the meeting referred to in the essay, and gain skills required for communicating assertively. In addition methods of non-verbal communication were explored more in depth. The reason for this was to find out about different methods of communicating which could have maximised the impact of communication during the meeting. Lastly the importance of a team meeting will be outlined, as well as new learning and any unanswered questions I still had.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html(date accessed 07/11/13)
I sourced this website using an internet search engine.
I typed the words ' 'non-verbal communication skills ' ' in the Google search bar. From the list of website suggestions given I chose 'www.skillsyouneed.com. ' Clicking on this link directed me straight to the section on non-verbal communication. This page gives thorough explanations of several different types of non-verbal communication. The paragraph on eye contact explains the importance of this non-verbal skill and the purpose it serves when communicating. This assists the reader in understanding the outcome if the person receiving information lacks eye contact or averts their attention. The use of dividers and also headings for each section made the particular area I was looking for easy to find. This website is aimed at a wide range of people, from students to professionals or even those looking for work. It is a helpful source for anyone looking to improve their interpersonal
skills.
Ellis, R (2002.) Communication Skills: Stepladders to Success for the Professional (pp. 44-56) Bristol: Intellect Books
I sourced this book from West College library. In the search catalogue I typed "assertiveness in communication. ' '
This chapter and the book itself involved reading that is more complex than anything I have referenced in previous study but still simple for me to understand. It not only explains assertiveness in communication but provides a section on 'Training ourselves to become more assertive. ' This was of particular use to me since this is an area I need to improve in.
This is because Ellis adopts a friendly tone which involves the reader, by using words like 'we ' and 'our. ' He also provides very good links at the end of a section which make the relationship to previous sub sections understandable. The overall book includes plenty of figures and examples which can be referred to.
Rabinowitz, E. (2011). Staff meetings improve communication, staff efficiency. Healthcare Professionals Network. Retrieved from: http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money-digest/blogs/financial-health-check-up/0911/Staff-Meetings-Improve-Communication-Enhance-Efficiency This journal was obtained online through a search engine. I entered ‘communication in team meetings’ into the search box. A healthcare journal hyperlink took my interest. I was directed the article headed ‘Staff meetings improve communication, Enhance efficiency.’ The text includes recommendations for making team meetings effective and the positive developments that can come from meetings. Of particular focus is how to encourage staff involvement in meetings. The article is made interesting by encouraging the reader to imagine themselves in various work/team settings. This journal is intended for healthcare professionals, particularly specialists. However it could also be very useful for social care workers or any other role where team working is key. Although the source is aimed at professionals, the writer’s relaxed tone and use of vocabulary is user friendly.
Comparison and Contrast
The two most useful items sourced were the life skills website and the short book on communication skills. The website suggests that non-assertiveness can be seen as using inefficient communication skills. Central to this page is the protecting of one’s rights by using assertive interpersonal skills.
This author suggests that if we don’t act assertively, we can learn from that situation by always reflecting. Ellis’ ‘Communication Skills’ is also focused on the idea that assertiveness is about protecting your own rights.
Both sources were easy to take information from with the use of sub headings, short paragraphs and bullet pointed lists. For both sources non-verbal signals are used more than verbal to communicate information. They are also in agreement that assertiveness is about safeguarding your personal rights and finding the balance between passive and aggressive is essential for communicating in team meetings. The short book provides the reader with many more examples of how to communicate assertively and suggestions of assertive behaviour. In contrast, Ellis assures that if we don’t communicate assertively, we can learn from and improve on this as long as we are able to reflect on the situation. However, the Life Skills website puts failing to act this way down to inefficiently use of communication skills. The short book was most useful because it provided a theory to back up information and help the reader understand assertive behaviour.
New Learning
From referencing the literature related to my research, I have learned about several new skills which will be useful for me out in practice. Ellis’ ‘Communication Skills’ was extremely useful for exploring reasons behind my lack of assertiveness. On reading the sub section on Transactional Analysis, I understood better why I had chosen to retire from pushing my point further forward during the meeting. From now on consideration of Ellis’ list of rights will assist me when trying to communicate more assertively. Overall I have learned how to research more effectively, particularly with finding journals as I had never referenced these before. Once finished researching, I realised that I needed to be more selective and careful when choosing information because time can quite often be wasted searching for information and ideas that aren’t specific to the area of study.
949 words
Reference List for Communication Essay
Ellis, R, (2003) Communication Skills: Stepladders to success for the professional. Bristol: Intellect Books
Fielding, M, (2005). Effective Communication in Organizations: Preparing Messages that Communicate. Juta and Company Ltd http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.htm [date accessed: 11-11-13]
Rabinowitz, E (2011). Staff Meetings Improve Communication, Enhance Efficiency. Healthcare Professionals Network http://www.hcplive.com/physicians-money-digest/blogs/financial-health-check-up/0911/Staff-Meetings-Improve-Communication-Enhance-Efficiency Scottish Social Services Council, (2009). Codes of Practice. Dundee
Skills You Need: Non Verbal Communication http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/nonverbal-communication.html [date accessed 03-11-13]
Thompson, N (1996). People Skills: A Guide to Effective Practice in the Human Services. Hampshire: Macmillan Press Ltd