Week 7 discussion
Addressing Barriers
to Effective Communication
From moment to moment, a nurse leader’s day involves
communication—with patients, families, colleagues, supervisors, and so on.
Think of a particular day you spent working in a health care
environment, and consider three or four distinct points in time. For each point
of time, consider the following: With whom did you interact? Which forms of
communication did you use? What issues were communicated about—did they seem to
be light-hearted or sensitive? Straightforward or complicated? How would you
describe the pace of the interactions and your work?
As you consider these questions, it becomes clear that
communication can be quite complex, with many layers of meaning that shape the
experience for everyone involved. How could this awareness help you to
understand instances of ineffective communication when they arise?
To prepare:
Review the information in Chapter 19 of the course text, as
well as the assigned articles.
Reflect on an incident involving ineffective communication
within your organization or another health care setting. Consider this incident
through the lens of the communication process outlined in Figure 19.1 of the
course text.
What barriers contributed to this incident? What other
challenges may have influenced this situation?
Using the information presented in the other Learning
Resources, consider what could have been done to prevent or address the
ineffective communication. Why do you think the use of these strategies would
have resulted in better outcome(s)?
By Day 3
Post a summary of an incident involving ineffective
communication. Describe communication barriers and other challenges that
contributed to the incident. Propose one or more strategies that could have
been employed to promote a better outcome. Be sure to refer to elements of the
communication process.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6
Respond by critiquing at least two of your colleagues’
postings on two different days using elements of the communication process and
recommend additional strategies to overcome the barriers. If you think other
factors may have contributed to the situation, provide an analysis with the
support of literature.
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