Discuss about the Communication and Interpersonal Skills.
The film takes place in hospital contest, with the main character as Vivian Bearing. Vivian is an English professor who has been diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancers. The role taken by Vivian is that of a professor with no social attachments or family, the only thing that motivates her here career in 17th century English poetry. This paper will specifically review the movie based on the grounds of communication in nursing (Balzer-Riley, 2013).
The movie starts with Doctor Kelekian orienting Vivian concerning the kind of illness she is suffering. The doctor is seen to thoroughly explain the situation to the patient as well as explain the available way forward. The doctor also gives the patient a chance to ask the questions. Moreover, as the doctor continues to explain, he pauses to listen to the patient’s definition of the word insidious and does not put a fight to correct the definition but rather focuses on the primary goal of delivering the information (Cancer nursing practice, 2010). Finally, the doctor is seen to acknowledge the patient’s occupation and gives advice that it will be impossible for the patient to work once the treatment starts. This step is known as the orientation procedure, and it is crucial as it helps inform the patient on issues regarding health as well as develops trust.
Susie Monahan, the nurse in charge of taking care of Viviane, informs the patient of her dilapidated condition and also tells her that the doctors have failed to manage the illness and that regardless of all that information she can still have an option of resuscitation once her heart stops. Though the two doctors attending to Vivian hide the information that the illness is gaining more ground, the patient can gather that information from their behavior and expressions (Cancer nursing practice, 2010). Moreover, Suzie continues to show empathy to the patient, through constant communication as well as sharing her life stories which increase hope to the patient.
We also notice effective communication from Viviane who despite having a similar interview with another doctor continues to provide the same information to the intern doctor who used to e her student at the University (Journals.rcni.com, 2017).
The doctor notices Vivian’s urge to question him on his decision to pursue a career on cancer treatment, through her facial expressions. Though the patient does not ask the exact question, the doctor can understand her and push for the discussion, as he can interpret the facial expressions as well as the body movements.
Suzie comes to the patient’s aid once she realizes that the patients are in agonizing pain, though the patient does not utter any word, the doctor recommends morphine to the patient to relief the pain. This shows that the doctor and the nurse can recognize the non-verbal communication by the patient.
On the other hand, ineffective communication is seen during tests where the doctor does not explain the procedure before engaging the patient to the tests; the doctor is also seen leaving for tea break right after the patient arrives. The patient is left to interpret for herself that the doctor has left for tea (Southeastern University, 2017).
Moreover, ineffective communication is noticed when doctor kelekian brings around interns during morning rounds to learn through the patient Vivian. Though the doctor had earlier highlighted that the patient would help to increase the doctor’s knowledge, he did not outline the procedure on how this would take place. In the movie, we see the intern who is a former student humiliates the patient on one of the tests that happened on a Friday (Hein, 2010).
At the beginning of the movie, the way doctor Kelekian is advising the patient seems to contain a lot of medical jargon that limits the understanding of the main message; this is evident when Viviane is caught floating on the conversation, and her mind wanders off. Proper communication requires that one use a language that both parties can comprehend to ensure equal participation in the conversation (Kron, 2012).
Moreover, the way that doctor Kelekian presents the way ahead and provides a form to Vivian to sign seems rather like the doctor is making choices for the patient, about Vivian’s facial expressions. The event shows that the doctor is more concerned with proving his experimental tests rather than minding about the patient’s well-being. This is also replicated when young doctor declines to lower the aggressive medication that is being given to Vivian for the treatment of cancer (Moore, 2012).
The first time Vivian is admitted in the hospital, the first nurse to deliver a jug of water does not talk to her. It is the expectation of the patient that a nurse asks the patient how he/she is feeling but in this case, the first greetings are from Vivian rather than the nurse who ought to nurse the patient.
The doctors also fail to inform the patient concerning her health progress. This portrays the way effective communication is lacking from the top-level doctors (Nursing, 2008).
On watching the movie ‘WIT,’ I have realized that there are several areas in my nursing career that need to make changes as well as improve on others. Such areas include
Listening skills; compared to the nurse attending to Viviane I have realized that Suzie is more of a good listener than a nurse. Her listening seems to be intent and thorough making sure all the details have been taken in before giving a response. Likewise, it is good that I improve my way of listening to patients concerns rather than striving to offer solutions. This will reduce the number of errors that I commit hence increasing the chances of patients survival (Hein, 2010).
Communication skills, after watching the movie I have noticed that I rarely address the issues head on, I usually give statements that cut at the edges of the main message and leave the rest for the patient to read between the lines. At the introductory part, the doctor orienting Vivian is seen to be straightforward with the actual situation and so is Suzie when she tells Vivian that the illness is out of hands. Such kind of communication skills requires experience as well as a lot of confidence (Reeves, 2015).
Also, I have observed the nursing practice where Vivian is hospitalized requires that every patient is moved by a wheelchair. This is emphasized when the doctor examining Vivian, insists that it is not allowed for the patient to move on their feet. The current information and knowledge that I have do not recognize the use of the wheelchair to move patients around.
Suzie, the nurse, taking care of Vivian respects her patients wish and even fights for it long after the patient is dead. She stops the medical team resuscitating her arguing that she chose not to be resuscitated (Siviter, 2009). This has taught me to respect the patient’s wishes whether alive or long gone
This has taught me on how to communicate to patients, regarding passing painful information. The way Susie engages with Vivian as she briefs her about the failed efforts by the doctors makes the message seem less stressful.
The above skills are very fundamental to my nursing career. To ensure that I develop the skills, I have a plan to enroll at a professional nursing organization. According to my investigations, I found out that, I will manage to acquire the following upon enrolment,
Keep my nursing knowledge as well as maintain my proficiency.
The organization will assist in sharing of information among nurses, as we will be able to create nursing communities.
The organization will be able to provide webinars, conferences, and seminars that will help improve on these skills.
The other way to improve on these skills is to continue my education to the next level.
Conclusion
Based on the outcomes in the movie, there is a lot to learn for nurses as well as the other medical practitioners. Apart from the selfish behavior by the doctors to use Vivian as a genie pig to test their medications, doctors should also improve their communication and deliver the much-needed information to the patient. The movie has also shown clearly the role of a nurse which is to protect and take care of the patient. However, the focus was on communication effectiveness that aimed at educating the viewers. The constant dialogue that the patient kept engaging with the viewers is more informative of the situations happening in the movie; hence, helps keep the viewer on the loop.
References
A plan for implementation of the standards of nursing practice. (2014). 1st ed. Kansas City, Mo.: The Association.
Balzer-Riley, J. (2013). Communication in nursing. 1st ed.
Cancer nursing practice. (2010). Cancer Nursing Practice, 9(10), pp.8-8.
https://journals.rcni.com/doi/pdfplus/10.7748/ns.29.14.53.e9355 [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].
Southeastern University. (2017). Effective Communication in Nursing: Theory & Best Practices. [online] Available at: https://online.seu.edu/effective-communication-in-nursing/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].
Hein, E. (2010). Communication in nursing practice. 1st ed. Little, Brown.
Kron, T. (2012). Communication in nursing. 1st ed. Philadelphia: W.B.Saunders.
Moore, S. (2012). Communication in Nursing, 4th Edition. Geriatric Nursing, 23(5), pp.267-283.
Nursing. (2008). 1st ed. Ambler: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Reeves, H. (2015). Communication & Interpersonal Skills in Nursing Bach Shirley and Grant Alec Communication & Interpersonal Skills in Nursing 208pp £19.99 Sage: Learning Matters 9781473902572 1473902576. Nursing Management, 22(7), pp.14-14.
Siviter, B. (2009). Culture, Communication and NursingCulture, Communication and Nursing. Nursing Standard, 23(40), pp.30-30.
Webb, L. (2011). Nursing. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Openlab.citytech.cuny.edu. (2017). Wit Assignment | Janet Bowen’s ePortfolio. [online] Available at: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/jbowen-eportfolio/education/wit-assignment/wit-assignment/ [Accessed 19 Mar. 2017].
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