User:Ak14au/Interpersonal Communication: Situational Milieu (Hospital)

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Situational milieu

classroom, military conflict, supermarket checkout, hospital

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In order to understand the meaning of what is being communicated, context must be considered. In a hospital context, internal and external noise can have a profound effect on interpersonal communication. External noise consists of influences around the receiver of the communication that distract from the communication itself. In hospitals, this can often include the audible functioning of medicare equipment and conversations between health team members in the hallways and patient units. Internal noise is described as cognitive causes of interference in a communication transaction. Internal noise common in the hospital setting may be a health care professional's thoughts of future tasks distracting them from a present conversation with a client. Other barriers that can affect effective communication between healthcare professional and client are perception, values, emotions, sociocultural background, knowledge level, and roles and relationships. Perception refers to personal views based on past experiences. Values refer to beliefs that a person considers important in life. Emotions refer to the subjective feeling about a feeling; these can include anger, anxiety, and frustration. A sociocultural background barrier refers to language gestures and attitudes common to a specific group of people relating to family, origin, occupation and lifestyle. Knowledge level describes the level of education and experience attained that influence's a person' knowledge base. Finally, roles and relationships refers to the fact that the conversation between two nurse for example will be different than a conversation between nurse and client. Channels of communication also contribute to the effectiveness of interpersonal communication. A communication channel can be defined as the medium through which a message is transmitted. There are two distinct types of communication channels: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous channels involve communication where both parties are present. Examples of synchronous channels include face-to-face conversations, video chats, and talking on the phone. Asynchronous communication can be sent and received at different points in time. Examples of this type of channel are text messages, emails, and notices on a message board.

In the hospital setting, synchronous and asynchronous communication channels can be useful if utilized at appropriate times. When a message needs to be delivered to someone who cannot be disturbed or who is not available, for example a doctor who is busy with a patient, an asynchronous communication channel can be an optimal way to deliver that message. Messages that are recorded in some way, either hand written or through electronic mediums, can serve as reminders of what has been done and what needs to be done. A few examples of the disadvantages of communicating through these types of channels include that the sender does not know when the other person will receive the message and miscommunications can occur when clarification is not readily available. When an urgent situation arises, as they frequently do in the hospital environment, communication through synchronous channels is ideal. There are several benefits of synchronous communication, such as immediate delivery of the message and less frequent misinterpretation of the message. One of the disadvantages of synchronous communication is that it can be difficult to retain, recall, and organize the information that has been given in a verbal message, especially when you’ve been communicated copious amounts of information in a short amount of time. When used appropriately, synchronous and asynchronous communication channels are both efficient ways to communicate and are vital to the functioning of hospitals.

When mistakes occur in hospitals, more often than not, they are a result of communication problems rather than just errors in judgment or negligence. Furthermore, when there is a lack of understanding and cooperation, due to a breakdown in communication in the hospital milieu, it is the patient who suffers the most, therefore it is essential to cultivate an environment conducive to effective communication, through appropriate use of communication channels and awareness and elimination, when possible, of the effects of internal and external noise.