- Support workers are ideally placed
to support and facilitate good quality communication in the
workplace.
- A patient’s first impression of the
support worker will impact upon their willingness to
communicate.
- Communication is a combination of
many factors, which should all work in harmony to ensure quality
care.
- Active listening is an important
skill that all support workers need to employ.
- When barriers to communication
occur, they need to be recognised and acted upon, not just
accepted.
An example of support the
disability support workers can provide
Support workers are closest to
patient care, spending more face-to-face time with patients and
their families/carers. It is vital therefore that support workers
communicate in a patient-centred way, taking into account the
patient’s preferences and needs, while maintaining respect and
dignity.
Example
If the patient has any hearing loss
or deafness, or is partially sighted or blind, these factors will
need to be recognised and taken into account.
As a support worker,
- find out what aids and tools the
patient normally uses to communicate.
- Do they lip read or use sign
language, or use braille to read information leaflets?
- The support worker needs to be
sensitive to the needs and requirements of their patients, meeting
their needs in a holistic way.
- Medical terminology and jargon is
another potential barrier to successful communication.
- As support workers, you will be
used to the medical terms and treatment names, as well as all the
abbreviations and acronyms that are commonplace within the health
service.
- Your patients will potentially not
be and confusion and misunderstanding can arise.
- Always use simple language and
explain any terminology that the patient does not understand.
- Often it will fall to the support
worker to act as the go-between, having to explain to the patient
what other members of the multidisciplinary team actually mean
What they used communication
skills ( verbal and non verbal ) to empower the
client?
i) Non-verbal
communication
- Communication is not just the
spoken word, but is made up of a number of different
components.
- First impressions count and a
patient’s opinion of their support worker is 90% decided upon by
the non-verbal communication and body language displayed when first
they meet.
- This communication takes place
without the use of words, but is displayed through the mannerisms,
eye contact, facial expressions, posture and movements of the
body.
- These are often done
subconsciously, but can portray the innermost feelings and
emotions.
- It is therefore very important to
be aware of what our body language is saying to our patients.
- Always acting in a friendly, open
and professional manner will encourage and support our patients in
communicating their wishes, feelings, worries and needs.
Two communication
models:
1. SOLER
2. SURETY
1. SOLER
SOLER, is an
acronym:
- S – face the
client Squarely
- O – adopt an
Open posture
- L –
Lean towards the other
- E – maintain good
Eye contact
- R –
Relax This was develop
2. SURETY
- S – Sit at an
angle to the client
- U – Uncross arms
and legs
- R – Relax
- E – Eye
contact
- T – Touch
- Y – Your
intuition
ii) Verbal
Communication
Verbal communication is simply
‘messages imparted via language expressed as words’. These are the
actual words that are spoken between two or more people. It can be
‘used to convey shared experiences, check information and make
sense of the world we live in’.
When communicating with
patients, ‘open’ and ‘closed’ questions can be
used.
- ‘Open’ questions are those that
require more than a single, one-word answer.
- They are designed to gather
information from the patient or to check understanding. These
questions will require more time than closed questions.
- ‘Closed’ questions are those that
can be answered with a single word, yes or no.
- These are useful when time is short
or you need an answer quickly.
- Support workers will use a
combination of open and closed questions when communicating with
their patients and carers.
Para-language
- However, it is not only the actual
spoken words that are important but how they are said: this is
known as ‘para-language’.
- The tone, pitch, volume and pace at
how the words and sentences are delivered can add to and change the
meaning of the words.
- However, if you spoke in an
unhurried way, with a more sympathetic voice and displaying
appropriate body language, this would reassure the patient and
might encourage them to ask questions and seek support.
Active
listening
- ‘Active listening’ involves
maintaining skills of being able to focus on the central message of
oral discourse and ‘being able to actively resist
distraction’.
- It is about focusing on the message
while resisting distraction that is the key.
- You need to give the patient your
complete attention.
- To do this properly, you will also
need to consider the time and the place.
- Do you have sufficient time to
devote to actively listen?
- Is this the best environment for
this to take place, free from all the distractions, which are all
around?
- It is about not taking the spoken
words themselves at face value, but listening for the real meaning
of them in the person’s whole being.