National Nursing Ebook Continuing Education Summaries

Educating Patients: Creating Teaching Moments in Practice

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Personality and communication styles can also influence communication and must be taken into consideration. Indirect communication focuses on the context or meaning of the message. This type of communication may not be clear, and it can take longer to get the message from the speaker to the listener. Direct com- munication is based on the content of the message. Direct communication may be considered blunt by some, is shorter, and does not have implied meaning (Maryn - iak, 2019; Stoain, 2020). Patients should always be encouraged to ask questions, with responses given each time. The ability to ask questions is another component of effective commu- nication. Phrasing of questions can create a sense of trust or distrust. Questions that are used to elicit concerns involve you, for example, “What concerns you about this procedure?” Questions to test knowledge emphasize me and I so that patients don’t feel pressured or tested, for example, “I want to make sure I did a good job telling you about the medicine. Tell me in your words why you are on this medicine?” Questions that include how and what help keep the focus on content. Ques- tions with why should be used cautiously, as they may put people on the defensive, for example, “Why do you believe that?” The intent in that question may be to elic- it more information, but it can be inter- preted as questioning the person’s belief. Open-ended questions give patients the ability to speak their thoughts how they want to, which can provide valuable in- sight for healthcare professionals (HCEA, 2021; Maryniak, 2019).

| HEALTHCARE CONSIDERATION

Open-ended questions elicit rich in- formation from patients. There are times when closed-ended questions are appropriate. Eliciting yes and no responses during a patient history, for example, works well. Electronic health records have sections that allow for only yes, no, or N/A responses. Here are some examples of questions healthcare professionals can use with patients: ● “What concerns you the most about your high blood pressure?” ● “What are your goals in life?” ● “What are your goals today?” ● “How do you take your medicine?” ● “How do you feel today compared to yesterday?” ● “Tell me about how you manage your pain at home.” ● “Tell me what you would do if you had questions when you get home.” ● “What questions do you have for me?” There are times when patients don’t provide many details, even when an open-ended question is used. Probing questions are used to gather more in- formation and encourage further discus- sion. These questions can also summarize and clarify, for example, “Tell me more,” “I want to make sure I understand—tell me more about that,” and “How did that affect you?” (HCEA, 2021; Lapum et al., 2020).

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