The Role of Healthcare Administration
Healthcare administration is a profession that offers direction to the group in charge of delivering healthcare. This job provides fulfillment and achievement for those who wish to help and benefit others. Healthcare managers are expected to possess the following qualities in a healthcare organization: leadership, supervision, communication, and coordination with other team members; a professional attitude; a sense of responsibility; knowledge of healthcare; and business-related expertise.
Managers are expected to carry out their duties in the most advantageous manner possible for the organization and efficiently use human and financial resources (Finset et al., 2020). They are expected to make judgments regarding the method of employing employees, the proper use of resources to provide the best results for the organization, and the timely and effective delivery of services to customers. Therefore, a healthcare manager’s choice affects how the organization functions. When managing work and making decisions, it is essential to consider both the internal and external domains. Both domains impact the organization.
Importance of Communication in Healthcare
Since information is the cornerstone of medical care, effective communication should prevail between nurse managers, doctors, and patients in all medical settings. Therefore, nurse managers must ensure that all patients are satisfied, which can only be done by successfully interacting with them. Nurses are among the professionals who need to speak with their patients to foster understanding between them because doing so is the only way for them to learn about their requirements and their patients’ difficulties.
Patients must advise the nurses of their circumstances, any previous medications they may have taken, and even any relevant advice from other medical professionals. Nurse managers’ coordination of all hospital activities necessitates communication with other staff members because they also indirectly talk with patients (Finset et al., 2020). Nurse managers must have positive attitudes, be kind, and be able to pay close attention to patients.
Barriers to Effective Communication
The expected level of communication between nurses and patients has yet to be realized despite efforts to enhance it through training for nurses. Communication obstacles are the primary reasons for insufficient nursing care, medical errors, and high patient costs. In most situations, poor nurse training is to blame for this lack of solid communication skills. Nurses’ time commitments—who may be working overtime and, as a result of the strain, end up giving patients subpar care—are another significant contributor to miscommunication (Schroyen et al., 2018). Rarely do nurses feel comfortable conversing with members of one social class but not another. As a result, patients from lower social classes will receive less effective care than those from higher social classes.
Enhancing Communication Channels
Nurse supervisors can communicate with patients via a variety of channels. Some of them need to be more sufficient to deliver high-quality care. The preferred method of communication between nurses and patients is face-to-face. Since the patients feel comfortable talking and explaining themselves more fully, the nurse can get to know them as they interact. Additionally, the nurse can learn more about the patient’s medical history, which would have been more challenging through other contact channels (Schroyen et al., 2018). The nurse may also see the patient’s condition, which enables her to treat the patient more effectively than if they were only communicating over the phone.
The Impact of Face-to-Face Interaction
Nurses are better equipped to clarify medical jargon when they can talk to each other face to face. Patients would be made aware of their problems and made to comprehend what is happening inside their bodies. They could then take the safeguards for their health since they understand it much better. As a result, nurse managers must communicate with their patients, whether directly or indirectly. They may visit the patients to check on them, show them some kindness, and talk to them about their health difficulties.
Ensuring Effective Communication Training
Indirectly, nurse managers should ensure that all employees have adequate professional and practical communication training (Schroyen et al., 2018). Nurse managers supervise all nurses and other healthcare professionals to connect with patients directly. However, other communication channels, including phone calls and emails, may also be required in an emergency.
References
Finset, A., Bosworth, H., Butow, P., Gulbrandsen, P., Hulsman, R. L., Pieterse, A. H., Street, R., & Tschoetschel, R. (2020). Effective health communication – a key factor in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(5), 873-876. Web.
Schroyen, S., Adam, S., Marquet, M., Jerusalem, G., Thiel, S., Giraudet, A. L., & Missotten, P. (2018). Communication of healthcare professionals: Is there ageism? European Journal of Cancer Care, 27(1), e12780. Web.
