FIELD-STUDY- CUSTOMER CARE IN 3 SETTINGS - Essay Example

Like what our parents use to say, a word has healing powers. In the case of nurses, communication is the most important tool to utilize in the proper care of patients. Nurses are often subjected to face-to-face interaction with the patients from receiving them at the counter to attending t their every need while in the hospital. That is why it is important to note the different settings of health care and the proper way of communication for each setting. First, we have the nursing care for adults.

According to Minardi and Riley (1997), patients can also perceive non-verbal behaviors that tended to signal tentativeness. These can be remembered by the acronym SOLER, which stands for Sitting squarely, Open posture with the client, Leaning forward slightly, Eye contact, and Relaxed position (Minardi & Riley, 1997). Adults, unlike children, can easily see through the nurse in-charge of them by the nurse’s behaviors. They further stated that health care workers who use these behaviors are more likely to be perceived as attentive and sympathetic by their patients (Minardi & Riley, 1997).

Health workers find it easier to communicate with adult patients since adults in general know the condition of their body more than the children. If they feel uneasy, it seems very comfortable for them to share it with the health worker in charge of them. But sometimes, cases of adult patients exhibiting bizarre behaviors make it impossible to conclude this matter. There are some cases when adults are afraid to take medications because they believe that they cannot bear to know what is wrong with their health.

In this case, constant and good communication skills are required for health care workers. Next is the case when health care workers deal with children, which is apparently more challenging. In the care for children, health care workers particularly the nurses should have taken child psychology courses to further enhance their communication capabilities with the children. In cases such as these, Doyle (1973) suggested the use of “imitative learning” which “enables an individual to short-circuit the tedious and lengthy process of trial-and-error (or reward) learning while incorporating complex chains of behavior into his repertoire.

” Thus, it is important to note that children always possess the mentality of doing-what-is-asked-and-get-a-reward-for-it. Remembering this concept, children’s nurses may find it valuable for the easier control of their patients. Another important thing to note however is the fact that children do not have the sense of obeying authority if the latter uses pure strength to force the former to do what is being asked of them. Last is the case when the health care workers face the task of nursing patients with mental issues.

In Doyle’s book (1973), he outlined the three major areas of technical concern for the therapist which are: 1. creating and maintaining a positive therapeutic alliance; 2. making a behavioral analysis of the problem(s); and 3. implementing the behavioral principles of reinforcement and modeling in the context of ongoing interpersonal interactions. These major areas should be well-known to mental health nurses since dealing with these kinds of patients is the most difficult thing for health workers.

Reflection and knowing oneself is a very important thing to remember while communicating with mental health patients. Ethics should be observed when dealing with these