GOALS IN NURSING

GOALS IN NURSING
NAME:
UNIVERSITY:
LECTURER:
DATE:
Improving communication with my patients and colleagues
Goal
The first goal that I am working on is to enhance my communication with my patients and colleagues.
Objective
The objective is to be in the capacity to effectively and efficiently communicate with my colleagues and patients. Timeliness and accuracy of communication is of utmost importance in the nursing profession. (Communication in Nursing)
Rationale
Communication in the nursing field plays a significant role in nursing. Communication is key to any organization. Well communicated information uplifts the performance in an organization. The intent of what is communicated should be amicably understood by both parties. Failure to communicate effectively in nursing profession can be vital since this is a delicate field that calls for clear information in order to avoid fatality. When information is not conveyed, there is likelihood that treatment or medications are missed. (Riley 2011) We can imagine of a situation where communication breakdown occurs. For example, one might be required to succinctly undertake a certain procedure that must be strictly followed. Failure to effectively dispatch the right information and procedure can lead people in doing the wrong thing, leading to major health complications. It is thus paramount to pay attention to communication with the sole purpose of disseminating and receiving the right information and at the same time, understand what others are communicating to us. In this discipline, there is a high frequency of sending information over a short period of time. This may be troublesome and therefore, there is need to understand that there are factors which influence how the message is interpreted. There is need that professionals to ensure that the right communication occurs, past experiences and personal attitudes of both the sender and the receiver and the timing of the message. (Clinical Development). It is also important to know that we can never fail to communicate and communication is both verbal and non verbal (Burnard 2009). To avoid misunderstanding, there is need for culture awareness and so be able to know the attitudes of patients and colleagues. (Effective communication: Principle of Nursing Practice)
Strategy
I will;
* Improve on my ability to be clear and precise when giving instruction to both patients and fellow nurses on what needs to be done
* Clarify to people I communicate to whether they have understood whatever i communicate with them
* Seek for clarifications when in doubt to avoid doing the wrong thing which can be fatal or detrimental to the patients.
* Practise effective communication with my colleagues and ask them what I should do to overcome my shortcomings
* Read widely on how to enhance communication with patients and other staff
* I will further employ strategies that encourage people to openly communicate with me.
* Study the culture and religion of different people so that I have better understanding on their behaviour and way of living. This will avoid misunderstanding when communicating with them.
Evidence
Being a foreign student, I will maintain communication with my work mates and superiors. I will be honest with them by informing them I am working on improving my communication skills and will regularly ask their opinion whether I am effective when communicating with them. I will also request some of them to accompany me when attending patients and get their feedback on my communication skills.
REFERENCES
Anderson, L. Communication in Nursing | NurseTogether.com: retrieved from /Career/Career-Article/itemid/906.aspx
Burnard, P. (2009)Culture, Communication and Nursing. Pearson Education.8-12
Clinical Development: A framework for effective communication skills | Practice | Nursing Times: retrieved from /nursing-practice/296359.article
Effective communication: Principle of Nursing Practice retrieved from /__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/380795/Nursing_Standard_Principle_E_April11_563KB.pdf
Riley, J. (2011) Communication in Nursing. Elsevier - Health Sciences Division, 20-30.
Improving drug calculation skill
Goal and Objective
The second goal that I need to work on is on improving my drug calculation skills. The objective of this goal is to be able to correctly perform drug calculations and hence administer drugs correctly in the right dosage to patients.
Rationale