Teaching In Nursing: The Importance Of Effective Communication And Relationship Building

The importance of effective communication in nursing

Discuss about the Essay for Teaching in nursing.

Teaching is a rewarding pursuit for any professional who wants to share their knowledge and experience to others who are entering into similar practice. This essay will deal with nursing mentorship. Experienced nurses can enhance knowledge of newly registered nurses by sharing their clinical expertise and developing their professionalism. Teaching is a media which provides an opportunity to motivate learners and influence their success. It is a rewarding journey for a nurse working in the clinical setting to play a role of teacher and facilitate students to fulfill their current and future role in health care setting. The goal of an educator in nursing practice is to shape the next generation of nurses by modeling professional skills and values to ultimately enhance the quality of care services in future. The essay will demonstrate the credentials, skills needed as a teacher to teach regularly in the practice area to learners. These learning events will be analyzed about NMC (2008) Standards for learning and assessment in practice and relevant literature. Later the essay provides a brief teaching plan.

The first and the foremost skill that I will teach the students is to establish the effective working relationship.             According to Aston and Hallam (2011) a nurse need to be both culturally and intellectually equipped for having satisfied life both personally and collectively. It will not only make their career productive but also help them become the good citizen. Patient well-being is enhanced by establishing the effective nurse-client relationship. According to the theory of “Peplau”, the major aspect of the nurse-patient relationship includes that both develop maturity and knowledge over the course of the relationship. The interaction of feelings, thoughts, and actions form a basis of an effective relationship. The theory says that better health of patients can be achieved by considering and meeting their specific needs. Nurses play an essential role in the life of patient right from connecting them to doctor’s consultation, identification of their lifestyle challenges, allowing them to share their worries and communicating to meet their needs. A hospital setting provides care to people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Therefore nurses have the huge responsibility on them to overcome the linguistic barrier by building effective communication skills. The reason why I select this particular skill to teach student regularly is that of a therapeutic “nurse-patient relationship” build on trust and care to assist with gratification the physical, emotional, spiritual needs of the patients through personal knowledge and skills only will result in harmony and healing.

Teaching effective communication skills in nursing

I will teach the nurses about effective relationship building techniques. My teaching plan will include teaching the student effective communication skills. I will introduce myself to the students and use their names. I would start the interaction with the firm handshake to establish trust and respect. I believe that only by demonstrating good relationship establishing skills I can teach them how to build quick rapport with their patients. Achieving this initial step of mentorship will help solidify underpin the other mentorship aspects and will be effective in reducing the anxiety of students in a new placement. This is also reflected in the NMC guidelines (Nmc.org.uk, 2016).  Time is a premium for a mentor who is busy in a clinical area that is short staffed. Therefore the time used in developing the learning skills of the students holds paramount importance and should be well used (Gopee 2008). Therefore, it is imperative that building of effective working relationships at the earliest is facilitated by the communication skills of the mentor (Houghton 2016). Therefore, I will design my first week of the teaching period in effective application of the communication skills and actively listen to the student’s issues.

The nine essential factors that I would share with the student to enhance their communication skills will be discussed here. Reading improves vocabulary and increase the capability to express ones’ ideas and minimize the language barrier while communicating with the patients (Burns and Schultz 2008). Therefore, I would recommend them to read a newspaper, novels, and scientific magazines. I suggest them that they should not use extra words which will confuse the patients. Instead of waffling and losing credibility in front of the patient the nurses should talk precisely and to the point. Else it will make the nurses appear inferior and intimidating in front of the patient (Billings and Halstead 2015). On the other hand, I would teach them about effective writing skills which are particularly useful in dealing with patients who are blind, deaf and dumb. I will prepare myself with questions that most probably the students will ask me. I would prepare the presentation with short video clippings that will help a student understand the concepts in the better way. I would teach them about the power of developing active listening skills (Billings and Halstead 2015). As a nurse, these are essential for making an effective therapeutic relationship with the patient. Consequently, patients will feel safe, respected and that their dignity is maintained (Papastavrou et al. 2010). I will encourage students to improve their “note taking skills” such as mind mapping to create memorable records. In addition to tone of speaking, correct gesture, facial expression, body language, choice of words are relevant factors (Gopee 2008). Nurses who are not able to express empathy and affection which is the cornerstone of the nursing practice are not worthy of this profession (Murray and Staniland, 2010).  One best policy that I would emphasize to the students to cultivate is “honesty.” The ability to keep promises will create a positive impact on the patients. For example- “I will try to find out is better and sounds positive than saying I don’t know”. I would motivate students to broaden their perspective. Thinking out of box solutions during a crisis halts serious consequences. The student should make a plan to implement theses skills in their daily life without failing. Taking one step each day will eventually make a difference (Billings and Halstead 2015).  I will teach practical techniques to enhance their communication skills not only in the profession but also in the personal life. They will be able to leave a marking impression on the patients (Quinn 2007).

Building effective nurse-patient relationships

Consideration of the appropriateness of the learning needs of an individual student during any point of the program will facilitate the learning process for the students who are weak in certain sections of the learning course (Jokelainen et al. 2011). I would use the buddy system to facilitate the learning process. Before that, I would be assessing the skills and competencies and provide the learning material attractive and quick in grabbing the concept. As a mentor, I would follow the NMC standards which refer to the assessment and accountability of the teaching. A more professional and friendly approach is required to understand the expectation of the student and assess their learning needs (Papastavrou et al. 2010). I would use various theories and models of clinical skill acquisition and maximization of the knowledge in the placement. According to Wolff, Pesut and Regan (2010), assessment of the students should be done by reliable and robust evidence. Active feedback sessions from the mentor increase the effectiveness of the learning process and practice assessment (Aston and Hallam 2011). I will conduct a feedback survey based on the learning session. I will use a questionnaire where students have to answer the questions based on topics that were taught in the learning session. The results will demonstrate how far a student has been able to understand the concept of “relationship building skills.” Further, I would conduct personal interviews to resolve any queries or lessons extra needed. It would help me in evaluating students as well as my teaching skills. It will also enhance the personality development of the students (McCloughen, O’Brien and Jackson 2011).

The NMC standards emphasize “creating a learning environment.” According to Wolff, Pesut and Regan (2010), best practices and clear guidelines ensure that the students do not develop negative experiences during the process of learning. For the students to gain broad perspective during the training, learning, opportunities have to be identified by the mentors outside the placement and encourage them for gaining valuable insights into the various aspects of regulatory, statutory, and voluntary work in addition to nursing (Wallen et al. 2010). Mentors facilitate the use of the evidence-based practice for supporting change, building relationships and facilitate the patterns of new practice. The communication and facilitation skills of the mentor promote the development of the understanding of the students of the processes of literature review and research. The students identify the mentors as the most helpful sources for the implementation of the evidence-based practice in the nursing organizations. The guidelines of NMC states about leadership and its demonstration for education within academic settings and practice.

The role of mentoring in nursing

Mentors help to retain and attract the future nurse leaders and serves a great deal in the healthcare system where leaders develop the leaders. Experienced nurse leaders who act as the mentors communicate their tactical knowledge and support the future leaders of nursing while making difficult decisions. For this, the communication skills of the mentors play an active role in sharing their experiences with the students and contribute towards their professional development. The nurse educator develops the potential of the students, and their facilitation skills help them to support and guide the development of the new nurses from their experiences (McCloughen, O’Brien and Jackson 2011). Please refer to Appendix for the teaching plan.

References

Aston, L. and Hallam, P (2011) Successful Mentoring in Nursing. Learning Matters, Exeter

Billings, D.M. and Halstead, J.A., 2015. Teaching in nursing: A guide for faculty. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Burns, S and Schultz, S (2008) Reflective Practice in Nursing (4^th Edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

Cottrell S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook Palgrave, London

Gopee, N (2008) Mentoring and Supervision in Healthcare. Sage, London

Houghton, T., 2016. Assessment and accountability: part 3–sign-off mentors.Nursing Standard, 30(49), pp.45-52.

Huybrecht, S., Loeckx, W., Quaeyhaegens, Y., De Tobel, D. and Mistiaen, W., 2011. Mentoring in nursing education: Perceived characteristics of mentors and the consequences of mentorship. Nurse Education Today,31(3), pp.274-278.

Jokelainen, M., Turunen, H., Tossavainen, K., Jamookeeah, D. and Coco, K., 2011. A systematic review of mentoring nursing students in clinical placements. Journal of clinical nursing, 20(19â€Â20), pp.2854-2867.

McCloughen, A., O’Brien, L. and Jackson, D., 2011. Nurse leader mentor as a mode of being: Findings from an Australian hermeneutic phenomenological study. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(1), pp.97-104.

Murray, C Rosen, L and Staniland (Editors) (2010) The Nurse Mentor and Reviewer Update Book. Open University Press, Maidenhead

Nmc.org.uk. (2016). Standards to support learning and assessment in practice. [online] Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/additional-standards/standards-to-support-learning-and-assessment-in-practice/ [Accessed 28 Aug. 2016].

Papastavrou, E., Lambrinou, E., Tsangari, H., Saarikoski, M. and Leino-Kilpi, H., 2010. Student nurses experience of learning in the clinical environment.Nurse Education in Practice, 10(3), pp.176-182.

Quinn, F. M. (2007) The Principles and Practice of Nurse Education. (5^thEdition.) London: Chapman Hall.

Wallen, G.R., Mitchell, S.A., Melnyk, B., Fineoutâ€ÂOverholt, E., Millerâ€ÂDavis, C., Yates, J. and Hastings, C., 2010. Implementing evidenceâ€Âbased practice: effectiveness of a structured multifaceted mentorship programme. Journal of advanced nursing, 66(12), pp.2761-2771.

Walsh, D. (2014) The Nurse Mentor’s Handbook Supporting Students In Clinical Practice 2^nd edition, Open University Press, Berkshire

Wolff, A.C., Pesut, B. and Regan, S., 2010. New graduate nurse practice readiness: Perspectives on the context shaping our understanding and expectations. Nurse Education Today, 30(2), pp.187-191.