Active Listening in Healthcare: Enhancing Patient Care

Working in a busy environment such as a metropolitan hospital tends is demanding as one has to give his/her best on the given role. It even gets even more demanding if one occupies a senior as the workload can overwhelm someone. However, it should be noted that clients expect the best from staffs regardless of the situation and thus one should try and offer the best to the clients. At the hospital, patients will; communicate their problems or progress to the nurse or doctor and expect total attention. This may not be the case at all times as some nurses or doctors might be overwhelmed with their current tasks hence not give the patient total attention. According to Rybold, (2006), listening is critical in any communication as it determined how one will analyze the information and give sound feedback. In that case, if a patient notices that a nurse is not paying attention to the discussion or rather not listening to what the patient is trying to communicate the patient will be angry and feel dissatisfied with the service offered hence impacting negatively on the therapy goal. This can have a negative reputation to the healthcare facility if it is not resolved as the patient (client) will spread it through word-of-mouth.

As a nurse or other healthcare provider, it is important that one listens actively to a patient as this creates a sense of concern and professionalism. If one finds himself overwhelmed it is important to politely tell the patient you will attend to his/her concern shortly; however, this should not take too long as the patient will become upset. Concentration in a discussion is essential and on that account, as a nurse, one should maintain eye contact with the patient during the discussion. Eye contact combined with the tone of voice can communicate a message of misery or joy within seconds (Birks, Davis, & Chapman, 2015). It is also a good gesture asking the patient questions as this will make the patient satisfied with the attention offered.