Personal and Professional Qualities of a Health Care Worker Chapter 4 Personal and Professional Qualities of a Health Care Worker

Diet-Eating healthy leads to good maximum performance and optimum health Rest-Provides energy and helps to deal with stress Exercise-Maintains circulation improves muscle tone, enhances mental control, aids in weight control and contributes to more restful sleep Good Posture-helps prevent fatigue and puts less stress on muscles Avoiding tobacco, alcohol and drugs-contributes to some seriously negative health consequences Personal Appearance

Professional Appearance Uniform- should be clean, neat, wrinkle free and well fitted Clothing- in absence of uniform clothing should be neat clean and in good repair, should allow free movement of body. Name Badge-Worn at all times within health care facility Shoes-match uniform and should fit well and be comfortable to prevent fatigue Personal Hygiene-bathing everyday is a requirement! No more needs to be said on this matter. Professional Appearance

Personal Characteristics Empathy-identify and understand another's thoughts and feelings\ Honesty-being truthful Dependability-being able to be counted on Willingness to learn-must be able to learn an adapt to changes Patience-tolerant and understanding Acceptance of Criticism-just part of the job Enthusiasm-enjoy what you do if not get out! Self motivation-begin and follow through with tasks Tact-say or do the most fitting thing in a difficult situation Competence-being qualified and capable of completing a task Responsible-means being willing to be held responsible for your actions Discretion-use good judgement in what you say and do Team Player-working with others BE ON TIME Personal Characteristics

Exchange of information through thoughts, feelings and ideas Verbal-spoken word Non-verbal-facial expressions, body language and touch Essential Elements of Communication Sender-individual who creates a message or idea Message-information, ideas or thoughts Receiver-individual who recreates a message from the sender Effective Comm.

Effective Comm. Important Elements of Communication Message Clear Did the sender deliver the message Receiver must be able to hear and receive the message Receiver must be able to understand the message Avoid interruptions/distractions Effective Comm.

Effective Comm. Effective Listening Show interest and concern Be alert maintain eye contact Avoid interrupting Pay attention Avoid thinking about how you are going to respond Look for the other person’s point of view and avoid your own prejudices Eliminate distractions Ask for clarification Maintain temper and positive attitude Give Feedback (allows the sender to assess if the message was received) Effective Comm.

Non Verbal Comm. Body Language, facial expressions and touch. Convey messages to both sender and receiver Must compliment the message being sent Confusion most often results in mixed verbal/non verbal messages Non Verbal Comm.

Barriers to Comm. Physical Barriers Deafness/Hearing Loss Blindness/ Impaired vision Aphasia or speech impairments Psychological Barriers Prejudice Attitudes Personality Cultural Diversity Beliefs and practices regarding health and illness Language Differences Eye contact Ways of dealing with terminal illness Touch Barriers to Comm.

Recording and Reporting all observations while providing care As detailed as possible incase someone has to come behind you it should be like they were in the room the whole time you were treating Us all senses: Sight-skin color, edema, rash or sore color of fluids Smell-unusual body odor, breath, wounds urine or stool Touch-pulse, temperature or dryness of skin, perspiration, swelling Hearing-respirations, body sounds, coughs, and speech Effective Comm.

Effective Comm. Two types of observations: Subjective-cannot be seen or felt, what the patient tells you, known better as symptoms, should be written down exactly as they were said Objective-these can be seen or felt and are commonly called signs. Effective Comm.

Defined as a skill or ability to encourage people to work together and do their best to achieve common goals. A leader is defined as an individual who leads or guides others, or who is in charge or command. Characteristics include: Respects rights, dignity, opinions and abilities of others Understands principles if democracy Works with a group and guides them towards a common goal Understands the concept of life long learning Understands own strengths and weaknesses Displays self-confidence and willingness to take a stand Communicates effectively Shows self-initiative Shows open-mindedness and optimism Praises others Dedicated to high standards Leadership

Leadership Types of Leaders Democratic-involves all parties in the decision making process, listens to opinions of others, then bases decisions on what is best for the entire group. (Tends to be most effective) Laissez-faire-believes in non-interference with the affairs of others, strives for only minimal rules and regulations, allows the members to function with little or no direction, very “hands-off” until forced by circumstances to do so Autocratic-Maintains total rule, makes all the decisions and has difficulty delegating duties, seldom asks for help, emphasizes discipline and expects others to follow rules at all times Leadership

Any body reaction to a stimulus that requires a person to adjust to a changing environment Body will go into alarm mode better know as “fight or flight” Managed by the sympathetic nervous system Adrenal glands release adrenaline Dilates blood vessels to heart and brain Constricts blood vessels to the skin and internal organs Pupils dilate Saliva production decreases Blood pressure raises Respiration rate Increases Stress

Stress Once response to stress is done: Parasympathetic system begins opposite reaction to sympathetic system Fatigue or exhaustion Serious illness can result if normal body functions are not returned to normal due to constant up and down reaction to continual stress Diseases include Anxiety, depression, allergies, asthma, digestive disorders, hypertension, insomnia, and heart disease Stress

Stress Dealing with Stress Identify Stressors List possible solutions Make a plan Act on your solution Evaluate the results Change Solution if nessecary Manage Stress reactons -Stop what you are doing to cause reaction’ -Breathe-take a slow deep breath to relieve tension -Reflect on the problem causing the stress -Choose how you want to deal with the plan Stress

Stress Other Factors that help with Stress Time Management-Set of skills that allows an individual to use time in the most effective and productive way. Keep a schedule Set Goals Prioritze Goals Write down goals Keep goals at attainable levels Stress

Stress Time Management Plan Identify habits and preferences Schedule Tasks Make a daily “to-do” list Plan your work Avoid distractions Take credit for a job well done Stress