Addressing Communication Barriers in Healthcare Through Reflective Practice
For healthcare workers, reflection is crucial, and there are various circumstances in which we must consider the situation. I will be utilizing Gibbs’ reflective cycle in detail to reflect on an occurrence since it is an excellent paradigm for doing so in a methodical and thorough way.
Overview
A doctor came up to me while I was working and took me with him; I had no idea what was going on. To talk with one of his patients, the doctor had brought me along, but I had no idea what the doctor would be talking about with the patient. While speaking with this patient, the doctor was hesitating a lot. Then, abruptly, he revealed that the patient was nearing the end of their life and had only been alive for three months. This information was shocking to both the patient and me. The physician had shared this information with everyone, including the other patients. The main problem is that the patient provided no information on how serious the illness was. The doctor left me to console the patient while they were in total shock.
Emotional Responses
I was not pleased with the way the doctor had explained everything to the patient; it was not appropriate, and I did not feel good about myself as a doctor at the time. I was rather calm when the doctor was giving the patient the information because I didn’t know anything about it, but when he did, I felt terrible for the patient. Since the patient had not anticipated anything like this, I believe that they were feeling quite dejected and shattered. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the doctor’s behaviour because the other patients had also heard this, which made them upset as well. I question why the doctor would not have paused in the middle of providing the patients with all the information.
Review
The patient needed the information that was being given to him, and as a physician, I believe it is critical that we convey the information effectively. I thought the way the doctor described everything pertaining to the patients’ health and the final stage of the illness was entirely incorrect. The doctor may have handled things differently so the patient could comprehend the situation and handle it in a different way. Additionally, it was improper for the doctor to reveal the information in front of other patients because it was negatively affecting other patients as well. The fact that the doctor brought me along was advantageous because two medical professionals can help and effectively convey this information to the patient. However, the fact that the doctor took me without telling me anything had a detrimental effect on the situation because I was unable to handle it.
The patient was devastated and sobbed aloud as the doctor explained everything to him. Despite this, the doctor continued to explain the severity of the illness and the various treatment options, which was a bad move on the part of the doctor and had to make matters worse. There was a positive aspect to the circumstance, and it was wonderful that I was there to console the patient so that I could treat him well.
Interpretation
When I think back on this incident, the doctor’s method to telling the patient the facts was the most significant thing that went wrong. Being put in such an unexpected circumstance was a bad experience for me as a doctor. One of the main problems in this case is that there was inadequate planning, which is why the patient received the devastating news in this way. The situation became more complicated because the patient was calm enough and was not in any position to hear information about the severity of the disease because he was not aware of it. The patient was completely shocked by the doctor’s approach and the way he delivered the awful news as well. Since doctors are trained on how to break such news to patients, even though the patients’ attendants must be informed first, I believe the doctor might have done a better job of using his training and expertise. I believe it was beneficial for me to be there so that I could handle the patient after everything.
Based on my analysis of the circumstances and introspection, I believe the doctor had to have had a good strategy in place before informing the patient all of this because he had no prior knowledge of it. The other patients were listening to everything that was bad for their health, thus the doctor shouldn’t have told the patient all of this in public. Since I wasn’t involved in any of this, I only knew that the patient was being informed about something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I would have advised the doctor to refrain from telling the patient everything straight if I had been told that he was giving them something new.
In addition to me, every other patient who listened to all of these things had astonishment and sympathy for the patient. The other patients’ reactions mirrored mine, which made matters worse because the hospital setting was already stressful, and such circumstances have the worst possible impact on everyone there. Additionally, I was unable to speak to the doctor because he was following the crowd, which caused the issue to spiral out of hand. Lack of knowledge caused the situation to spiral out of my control, and I struggled to handle it. I was very confident that I would be handling the situation well when I was left with the patient to console him after the doctor had given me all the information.
Having dealt with similar circumstances in the past, I was more equipped to handle patients and keep them motivated and upbeat in such a dire circumstance. I have effectively applied my knowledge and abilities, and I have attempted to explain every treatment option for the illness, giving the patient hope. This has greatly assisted me in consoling him and effectively handling the issue.
Conclusion
I have learnt a lot from this circumstance or event, and I believe that it is crucial for me to think about and concentrate on all of these experiences in an efficient way as a healthcare professional in order to handle all of these circumstances well in the future. I’ve discovered that in order to handle such a circumstance properly, I need to concentrate more on honing my interpersonal skills and cultivate a more optimistic outlook and greater empathy.
In addition, I believe that the patient was not managing their stress, which is crucial for them, so as a practitioner, I need to handle them more politely and carefully. After this experience, I can state that I will be working on some abilities and making sure that I don’t make the same mistakes again in my professional career. When providing my patient with this information, I will be more concerned and make sure they understand the severity of the illness so they can determine for themselves the worst-case scenarios that could occur. In addition, I’ll handle such circumstances in the future in a constructive manner.
Execution Strategy
I have improved interpersonal skills, which are necessary for me as a practitioner in the healthcare industry, but I still need to work on some of these abilities to help me be effective in a variety of situations because the medical business is unpredictable. Attending the webinars and online courses for attitude improvement and stress management will be my focus. To help them handle similar situations in the future, I will also read a lot of case studies about them.