Moonzarin Haider Jordan Bresenhan Jordan Bounds Alexis Chaloupka Maryam Shuaib

 Communication is the exchange of information, thoughts, ideas, and feelings  It can occur though verbal and nonverbal communication  Verbal: Spoken words or written communications  Non-Verbal: facial expressions, body language, and touch

Three essential elements:  Sender-an individual who creates a message to convey information or an idea to another person  Message- information, ideas, or thoughts  Receiver- an individual who receives the message Without a sender, message and receiver, communication cannot occur

 The message must be clear  The sender must deliver the message in a clear and concise manner  The receiver must be able to hear and receive the message  The receiver must be able to understand the message  Interruptions or distractions must be avoided

 Listening is another essential part of effective communication. Listening means paying attention and trying to hear what the other person is saying  In health care, it’s very important to listen. Good listening allows the patient to express fears and open up

 Maintain eye contact  Don’t interrupt the speaker  Pay attention to the speaker  Say thing likes “yeah”, “uh-huh”, and “I know right” to let the speaker know you are listening  Ask for clarification if you don’t understand  Keep temper under control and stay positive

 Non-Verbal communication involves the use of facial expressions, body language, gestures, eye contact, and touch to convey messages or ideas. A touch of the hand, a pat on the back, a firm handshake and a hug can convey more interest and caring than words could ever do. Its not all about verbal communication. Non Verbal communication shows you how the person is feeling about the topic. When verbal and non verbal messages agree, the receiver is more likely to understand the message being sent.

 A communication barrier is something that gets in the way of clear communication. The three common barriers are:  Cultural Diversity  Beliefs regarding illness  Language Differences  Eye Contact  Touch  Ways of dealing with a terminal illness  Psychological Attitudes  Prejudices  Stereotypes  Different Personalities  Physical Disabilities  Blindness  Deafness  Aphasia/Speech impairments

 One important part of effective communication is reporting or recording all observations while providing care  All senses are used to make observations which includes senses of:  Sight  Smell  Touch  Hearing

 By using all senses, the health care worker can learn a great deal about a patients condition and be able to report observations objectively  There are two types of observations which are subjective and objective observations  Subjective observations cannot be seen or felt and are commonly called symptoms. They are usually statements of complaints made by the patient  Objective observations can be seen or measured and are commonly called signs. A bruise, cut, rash, or swelling can be seen. Blood pressure and temperature can be measureable  In some health care facilities observations are recorded on a patients health care record.