Open Communication: The Heart of Quality Patient Care
Excerpt from "Improving Healthcare Team Performance: The 7 Requirements for Excellence in Patient Care"
The Behaviors and Practices that Create Open and Effective Communication
Dialogue is the epitome of open and effective communication. The following requirements are the basics of good communication and the creators of dialogue.
Listening requires more than simply waiting for a turn to speak. Listening is choosing to truly understand what the other person is saying and is the first step to ensuring an open two-way conversation. Listening requires setting aside judgement and any preconceived notions about the other individual and their ideas and perspectives, so that information care be received in its purest form.
2. Respond Instead of React
Our response to another individual is likely to trigger their next response. A defensive, aggresive, or judgmental reaction invites and often receives an equally unproductive response. An opportunity for understanding and best outcomes is lost and miscommunication and possibly conflict are generated.
Responding effectively requires that individuals take the following measures:
3. Ask Questions and Clarify
In the hurried healthcare environment, probing that is critical to understanding and accuracy can be overlooked. The practice of asking questions enriches communication in the following ways:
4. Recap Understanding
Misunderstanding is perhaps the most dangerous communication hazard, and it can happen so easily. The receiver may be preoccupied for just a few seconds and miss an important piece without realizing it; the sender may be in a hurry or may be stressed, and may not take sufficient time to explain or check for understanding; a cultural mix between workers can result in misunderstanding due to language differences or cultural interpretation.
A simple recap can prevent team members from leaving from an interaction with information that is incomplete or an understanding that is incorrect. A recap is the repetition of the key points that need to be taken away. The recap is often done by the sender, but can also be done by the receiver to check that he or she understood. It can be used in briefings, debriefings, staff meetings, hand-offs, and other one-on-one exchanges.