A major part of my job, as a certified nursing assistant, is not only taking care of people, but communication with the people I care for and the rest of the health team in an effective way. When working with the people I care for, nonverbal communication is a big deal, certain body language and gestures need to be avoided in order not to give people the wrong idea of a caregiver. Inappropriate, accidental, or improper gestures in nonverbal can cause a negative work environment for all parties involved and can cause a lack of trust, resulting in a breakdown in the communication process. Through communication, we have to offer the presence of caring, comfort, support, and respect. While in this class, the learning outcomes I hope to add are developing strategies for active, critical, and empathic listening, recognizing how words have the power to create and affect attitudes, behavior, and perception, and finally, understanding how perceptions, emotions, and nonverbal expressions affect relationships. I feel with the information I already know I can add the new information from this class to make my communication at work better than it is already.

The first learning outcome I stated was developing strategies for active, critical, and empathic listening. These three types of listening are important in communication because listening and responding appropriately results in better care and can build a better relationship between the caregiver and the person receiving care. Active listening is being mentally engaged in the needs of what the person is expressing. Critical listening is observing the steps that the caregiver will take in carrying out the needs the person is expressing. Empathic listening is understanding what the person is saying from their perspective and repeating back to them the importance of their needs being taken care of. Empathic listening is important because caregivers have to show the person being cared for caring and compassion. In order for the person receiving care to get the best care possible, caregivers need to listen and make sure the correct care is received. The person needs to be secure in knowing that the caregiver can perform the persons basic needs, since they can no longer do it for themselves, those needs are:

Physical needs

Safety and security needs

Loving and belonging needs

Self-esteem needs and

Self- actualization needs (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005).

The caregiver must be able to listen and focus on these needs through verbal and nonverbal messages of the person receiving care. I have already developed a strategy over the years, but adding new information is always essential; keeping in mind the caregiver still have to respect the cultural and religious views of the person receiving care. Culture plays a part in communication, so a person’s cultural views must be respected. A person’s religious beliefs influences a major part of their life, in this case religion can influence health and illness practices, so common practices will often be denied because of religion and/or culture.

Another learning outcome I stated that would be crucial to learn for my job is to better recognized how words have the power to create and affect attitudes, behavior, and perception. Using appropriate language is important because the wrong words can ruin a relationship that fragile between the caregiver and the person receiving care. The connotative aspect of words may cause problems in communication because a single word may evoke strong and varied feelings in listeners (Hybels & Weaver II, 2007). In order for communication to be effective, caregivers need to be open to the views and behaviors of the people they care for, every generation is different, and so a certain amount of understanding and change must be met for positive communication to occur. This will promote a positive perception of the caregiver from the person receiving care.

Caregivers are taught five basic very important rules for good, effective communication, these are:

Using words that mean the same thing to the sender and to the receiver, avoiding words with more than one meaning

Using familiar words that the family and person receiving care can understand

Being brief and concise, stay on the subject at hand, and not adding any unnecessary or unrelated information

Giving information in a logical and orderly manner, giving step-by-step organized information

Give the facts, be specific, and report the actual information (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005).

These rules are essential for the caregivers, the person receiving care, and the health team. Communication is key for the person receiving care to receive the best care possible.

Aphasia is the inability to speak; many people who have this disorder rely on nonverbal communication. Understanding how perceptions, emotions, and nonverbal expressions affect interpersonal relationships is important and crucial in my work environment. People receiving care focus more on nonverbal cues and gestures and pick up better on perceptions and emotions of the caregiver. People whom rely more on nonverbal communication send messages by expressions, gestures, posture, body movements, touch, and smell (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005). The caregiver must be able to pick up quickly on these nonverbal messages being sent. Touch and body language are the most important. Touch is an expression of caring and warmth, if used appropriately, but most people do not like to be touched and the caregiver has to be able to notice if the person receiving care likes that type of gesture. Most messages are often sent by the body language of people with disabilities and people with Aphasia, For example, a person may sit or lie down a certain way in order to hid pain or discomfort, while protecting whatever body part is in pain. The caregiver must be able to notice these body movements. Nonverbal communication accurately reflects the person’s true feelings, rather than spoken language; this is because nonverbal expressions are involuntary expressions that cannot be controlled (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005). Caregivers must pay close attention to their own gestures, in order not to give the wrong perception. The body language of the caregiver should show compassion, enthusiasm and respect to the person receiving care. In healthcare, there are messages that are more nonverbal then verbal expressed by people receiving care. Caregivers should not only be focused on the verbal but on the nonverbal messages and expressions being sent out at the same time.

Maintaining control of emotions and behaviors at all times is essential as well in order to attract positive reactions. Negative emotions and behaviors can cause negative reactions from people receiving care. The caregiver must always be in control of emotions and remain calm and patient when working with people receiving care. Behaviors can have positive and negative responses as well. Bad behaviors from caregivers can cause volatile responses from people receiving care, which can lead to a bad work environment. Good behavior cannot only create a positive work environment, but cooperation from the person receiving care. Every action has a reaction and every action form the caregiver should be positive in order to receive a positive reaction from person receiving care.

Other types of nonverbal messages such as, space, distance, and time are essential. Negative messages can also be sent by space and distance. Too much space between the caregiver and the person receiving care can give a bad perception. The person receiving care may look at the caregiver as lacking caring or compassion. Being too close can be uncomfortable and can be considered as violating the privacy of the person receiving care. The caregiver needs to be able to notice what space and distance is appropriate, this depends on the attitude and need of the person receiving care. Time is also essential for the caregiver and the health team. The caregiver must always be on time. For the person receiving care, this shows that the caregiver has the potential and compassion to care for the person, and shows respect and competency for the health team. The proper use of time determines the first perception between the caregiver, the health team, and the person receiving care. Arriving on time and being proactive, gives a positive perception. Arriving late and being lazy gives a negative perception.

The hardest parts of communicating at work are avoiding the communication barriers. Some caregivers can be completely ignorant or arrogant to the people they care for because the caregiver may see themselves as people of authority, which is wrong. I have seen many caregivers terminated for being stereotypical or prejudice of a person’s cultural or religious views. Some people being cared for may want someone to pray with them or celebrate a religious holiday, even though the caregiver does not share the same religion or culture, the caregiver should show respect, caring, and consideration in order not to break the level of communication established. Cultural differences are everywhere and should be respected. Unfamiliar language can cause a lack of trust, so if both parties speak the same language it should be used at all times, so messages are received correctly. People who are sick and/or dying need someone to talk to, these topics are uncomfortable to discuss, but sometimes talking about it makes the person feel better. The caregiver should never try to change the subject; instead, the caregiver should listen with empathy. If the caregiver were to change the subject, it would show a lack of caring or concern. Giving opinions should be avoided. Caregivers must let the people receiving care express their feelings or concern without the caregiver adding their own opinions, or judging feelings, this can lead to the wrong idea and a breakdown of communication. Caregivers that are new to the job would usually talk too much when a person receiving care is silent, both expressions can be because of nervousness or a lack of comfort, sometimes silence is okay so both parties may have a chance to warm up to each other.

As I stated earlier, listening is import and essential to the care-giving role. Failure to listen is disrespectful and very dangerous to a person’s care. Caregivers can miss if a person complaints of pain or distress, and can show a lack of caring if a person is upset or sad and would like to talk to their caregiver, but if the caregiver is not listening they miss the interaction and/or miss something life threatening. The last type of communication barrier is giving pat answers. Pat answers are answers that make the person receiving care feel as though the caregiver does not care about the person’s feelings, fears, or concerns of the people they are caring for (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005). Pat answers should never be used because this adds sadness and fear to a person who is supposed to be receiving care.

Caregivers play a huge role in socialization and communication for the people they care for. Effective communication is more important than anything else, when it comes to caring for someone. Empathic listening, using appropriate language, and words, understanding how perceptions and nonverbal expressions can cause positive and negative reactions are all parts of my job. Identifying barriers in communication are equally important as well. Caregivers contribute more than any other member of the health team to the physical, psychological, spiritual, and most important social aspects of a person’s care (Sorrentino & Gorek, 2005). After taking this class, I hope to add more to my already learned experiences to be the best caregiver I can possibly be.

References

Sorrentino, S.A., & Goreck, B. (2005). Basic skills for nursing assistants in long-term care. Elsevier-Mosby. St. Louis, MI.

Hybels, S., & Weaver II, R.L. (2007). Communicating effectively. (8^th ed.). McGraw-Hill.