Effective Communication in Nursing Field

Effective Communication in Nursing Field

Week 1 discussion

Effective communication is vital to constructing an accurate and detailed patient history. A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting. As an advanced practice nurse, you must be aware of these factors and tailor your communication techniques accordingly. Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with your patients, but it will also enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess your patients’ health risks.

For this Discussion, you will take on the role of a clinician who is building a health history for one of the following new patients:

76-year-old Black/African-American male with disabilities living in an urban setting

Adolescent Hispanic/Latino boy living in a middle-class suburb

55-year-old Asian female living in a high-density poverty housing complex

Pre-school aged white female living in a rural community

16-year-old white pregnant teenager living in an inner-city neighborhood

To prepare:

With the information presented in Chapter 1 in mind, consider the following:

How would your communication and interview techniques for building a health history differ with each patient?

How might you target your questions for building a health history based on the patient’s age, gender, ethnicity, or environment?

What risk assessment instruments would be appropriate to use with each patient?

What questions would you ask each patient to assess his or her health risks?

Select one patient from the list above on which to focus for this Discussion.

Identify any potential health-related risks based upon the patient’s age, gender, ethnicity, or environmental setting that should be taken into consideration.

Select one of the risk assessment instruments presented in Chapter 1 or Chapter 26 of the course text, or another tool with which you are familiar, related to your selected patient.

Develop at least five targeted questions you would ask your selected patient to assess his or her health risks and begin building a health history.

By Day 3

Post a description of the interview and communication techniques you would use with your selected patient. Explain why you would use these techniques. Identify the risk assessment instrument you selected, and justify why it would be applicable to the selected patient. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient.

Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:

Share additional interview and communication techniques that could be effective with your colleague’s selected patient.

Suggest additional health-related risks that might be considered.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

Week 2 discussion

Discussion: Diversity and Health Assessments

In May 2012, Alice Randall wrote an article for The New York Times on the cultural factors that encouraged black women to maintain a weight above what is considered healthy. Randall explained—from her observations and her personal experience as a black woman—that many African-American communities and cultures consider women who are overweight to be more beautiful and desirable than women at a healthier weight. As she put it, “Many black women are fat because we want to be” (Randall, 2012).

Randall’s statements sparked a great deal of controversy and debate; however, they emphasize an underlying reality in the health care field: different populations, cultures, and groups have diverse beliefs and practices that impact their health. Nurses and health care professionals should be aware of this reality and adapt their health assessment techniques and recommendations to accommodate diversity.

In this Discussion, you will consider different socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors that should be taken into considerations when building a health history for patients with diverse backgrounds.

Case 1

JC, an at-risk 86-year-old Asian male is physically and financially dependent on his daughter, a single mother who has little time or money for her father’s health needs. He has a hx of hypertension (HTN), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), b12 deficiency, and chronic prostatitis. He currently takes Lisinopril 10mg QD, Prilosec 20mg QD, B12 injections monthly, and Cipro 100mg QD. He comes to you for an annual exam and states “I came for my annual physical exam, but do not want to be a burden to my daughter.”

Case 2

TJ, a 32-year-old pregnant lesbian, is being seen for an annual physical exam and has been having vaginal discharge. Her pregnancy has been without complication thus far. She has been receiving prenatal care from an obstetrician. She received sperm from a local sperm bank. She is currently taking prenatal vitamins and takes Tylenol over the counter for aches and pains on occasion. She a strong family history of diabetes. Gravida 1; Para 0; Abortions 0.

Case 3

MR, a 23-year-old Native American male comes in to see you because he has been having anxiety and wants something to help him. He has been smoking “pot” and says he drinks to help him too. He tells you he is afraid that he will not get into Heaven if he continues in this lifestyle. He is not taking any prescriptions medications and denies drug use. He has a positive family history of diabetes, hypertension, and alcoholism.

To prepare:

Reflect on your experiences as a nurse and on the information provided in this week’s Learning Resources on diversity issues in health assessments.

Select one of the three case studies. Reflect on the provided patient information.

Reflect on the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors related to the health of the patient you selected.

Consider how you would build a health history for the patient. What questions would you ask, and how would you frame them to be sensitive to the patient’s background, lifestyle, and culture? Develop five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.

Think about the challenges associated with communicating with patients from a variety of specific populations. What strategies can you as a nurse employ to be sensitive to different cultural factors while gathering the pertinent information?