Facial expressions, gestures, posture and physical barriers are forms of non-verbal communication. As a student nurse, It is important to be aware of these non-verbal signs as well as listening, interpreting and understanding, having the awareness to assess patient needs. Listening to patients improves their self-esteem and combines the nursing diagnosis and the process of care at all grades. The inability to communicate effectively can cause patients to lose trust. Trust between a patient and...
Facial expressions, gestures, posture and physical barriers are forms of non-verbal communication. As a student nurse, It is important to be aware of these non-verbal signs as well as listening, interpreting and understanding, having the awareness to assess patient needs. Listening to patients improves their self-esteem and combines the nursing diagnosis and the process of care at all grades.
The inability to communicate effectively can cause patients to lose trust. Trust between a patient and nurse is vital to reduce patient’s anxiety and allows them to regain control. When undertaking a respiratory assessment establishing trust allows patients to feel safe and respected minimising any barriers to the accurate assessment of the respiration such as, due to anxiety.
Nevertheless, Aghabarari, et, al., underlined some common factors that affect communication between the nurses’ and patient’s perspectives. Respectively, the nurse’s and patient’s perspective were due to being overworked and the busy environment of the ward as well as language differences between nurses and patients. Park and Song, (2005) argued that a shortage of nurses is the reason for an increase in the workload, and consequently, leading to insufficient time to build a good therapeutic relationship. The non-verbal communication in different cultures also comes with different clarifications and culture can either stand as an enabler or an obstacle to communication.
