According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a nurse is a person who or thing which nurtures or cares for others. For as long as nurses have existed, their goal has been to reach out to those who need assistance. Nurses have a specific way of relating to the patients that have ailments. It is vital that nurses understand how to express information in a way that people with low health literacy, deaf people, and those from other parts of the world can understand.
Simply because someone is born with a disability or is not taught to speak correctly, does not mean he or she does not deserve the best treatment possible. Each person deserves equally adequate care regardless of race, age, intelligence, and so on. It is important that nurses and other healthcare professionals comprehend how to communicate with each type of person in order to show no sign of discrimination or unequal care. There are many methods practiced to avoid running into complications in communicating with patients who may possess these specific afflictions.
Almost ninety million Americans said that they struggle to understand health information according to a recent statement from the Institute of Medicine. In 2003 the National Adult Literacy Survey stated that 43% of adults retain primary or below primary reading competence. There is now a major concern in regards to the capability of those Americans to operate properly in settings which involve their health. Being able to read and understand health information is necessary for one who needs to make suitable judgments about their health.
There is a significant difference between poor literacy and poor health literacy. Having poor health literacy is strictly content related. Someone who has poor health literacy may still be quite capable of reading and writing but strain to understand unaccustomed medical jargon. Low health literacy is linked to many sources such as the steadily growing diversity in the United States and rising healthcare costs, among other factors. Those who possess low health literacy understand less about their medical condition causing it to worsen.
Usually, underprivileged individuals, minorities, the elderly, and those who live in rural settings are most likely to attain low health literacy. There is a strong correlation between having poor health literacy and poor health outcomes. Because of this, it is extremely vital that the barrier of communication is taken down. Most healthcare professionals attempt to remove this barrier by way of using print materials. The only problem is that reading and comprehending is critical when analyzing print materials and doing so is quite a struggle for those with low health literacy. Another hindrance in using this technique is that it relies solely on the patient to read, interpret, and make progress with the information retained. Though the written materials may be very informative and useful, they may be completely worthless to those who do not understand them. Verbal guidance from nurses or doctors is what patients are more likely to solely rely on.
Most individuals who suffer from low health literacy are embarrassed of their disability. Usually, they require a translation of the vocabulary used by the medical professionals. Experiments and observations on this topic have served as useful and accurate tools in attempting to solve this problem.
“Nurses play a pivotal role in promoting access to culturally competent health care services for those who experience linguistic and cultural barriers. Nursing strategies to facilitate and enhance the Deaf community’s access to health care services are provided.” The above quote, taken from an article by Christine Lieu, portrays the fact that nurses must find a way to break down any communication barriers that may stand in the way of giving proper medical treatment.
Roughly 28 million Americans are deaf or have hearing problems (Lucas, Schiller, & Benson, 2004). It is a nurse’s job to ensure that those who possess disabilities are treated as equal as those who may not be disabled. The nurses must advocate patient’s happiness, learning, and the advancement of health. Deaf patients have a legal right to make decisions as well as a legal right to clearly understand what may be defective with their health. Also, deaf patients reserve special rights because of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nurses are the people who can influence the administration of the health care and patient’s view of that care.
The use of sign language and other communication services for the deaf are not popular in health care providers. Many providers see sign language as a second language rather than a first. Sign language is merely a foreign language to many. The lack of usage of sign language has made it nearly impossible for medical providers to become close with Deaf culture and ways of communication.
The attempts around sign language are usually weird and contracted. Deaf people usually attempt to escape the awkward conversation because it is much too difficult to be speaking in your language to someone who does not know how to speak your language. It is critical that nurses know how to address these types of situations and are knowledgeable in how to not offend someone. Deaf people will be easily turned off by someone who lacks communication skills. It is the nurse’s job to be the “people person” and know how to fit comfortably in this somewhat awkward situation.
Imagine walking into a building where you are in dire need of medical attention and having no way to explain what is wrong with you. You try so hard to illustrate it with your hands in a way that you think everyone would understand. Still, no one understands what you are attempting to get across. Many times, this is how people who need medical attention feel. Deaf people have no way of describing their ailment to a doctor or nurse just the same way people with low health literacy cannot properly explain their problem. Generally it is a nurse’s mission to know how to break the language or communication barriers and supply any struggling patient with treatment.
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5 comments:
Your essay was overall very well written. It is obvious that you put a lot of time and thought into writing it. I was shocked when i read the statistic about 90 million Americans not being able to understand information in healthcare. It is good that you mention that verbal guidance is the most recommended way doctors or nurses should communicate with their patients, but could you give an example? Maybe you can talk about your own personal experience when a health care provider used verbal guidance. This would be a way you could incorporate pathos into your essay. The second sentence in the tenth paragraph was a little awkward. I had to read it a few times to get the full idea of what you were trying to say. I like your closing because it serves as a visual and really makes your readers think of the importance of communication with deaf people. Also, you make want to add in a little more of how people disagree with your issue. Other than that it is a good essay!
I think that this is a great essay. I was also very surprised at the amount of Americans who can not understand information told to them in healthcare. That helps me alot because my paper is on communication in healthcare as well and that statistic shows that communication needs to be improved in many ways. I think that all your info is very well written. I do not know if you did use your 5 sources or not but beware of that because that is very crucial for a good grade on this paper. Another thing you might want to add to your paper is what you believe would be the best way for nurses to help their patients. Your rough draft seems very well written and well thought out. Maybe you could add some more examples of certain situations that nurses get into and your input on the best way to improve communication between the nurse and patient.
This was a great read. My mother is a nurse, and I've never really seen her on the job, and this really gives me a new kind of respect for her and all nurses everywhere. Most people in the medical field are talking about how to dumb down their diagnoses, but this takes a different approach. I really like the direction you've taken with this. Some tune-ups on this, and I'm almost positive this paper will end up with an A.
I thought this essay was great. I believe it is the job of the nurse to bridge to gap that is often left between the patient and the doctor, and that was explained very well in your paper. You might want to use a couple of examples to back up a few of your claims, but overall I understood the point you were trying to make very easily. You also might want to add what the conflict or an opposing view point might be.
As your peers have pointed out, this essay presents the information you've found very well. The most important thing I think you need to work on now is bringing the sources you’ve found into explicit conversation with each other. Don’t just summarize each one, but point out where they agree and where (and why) they disagree. Remember the point of this assignment is to understand the academic conversation, not just to understand the subject matter.
One way to do that would be to look for the big patterns or themes running through the sources you've identified.
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