Reflective Analysis of Communication

Introduction

In this essay, the reflection of the interaction with a patient named John is to be executed to present my strength and weakness in the communication scenario. Thereafter, the actions to resolve my weakness in future scenario is to be mentioned.

Patient Scenario

Mark Johnson who is a 30-year old individual and has good oral hygiene appeared for care due to the experience of sharp pain in the teeth for some time. He expresses confidence to meet the dentist but is a little guarded in sharing his own information.

Strengths

In the communication session with John, the first strength was that I was able to provide enhanced introduction in a clear, concise and consistent way regarding the course of actions to be taken to make the interaction for his health assessment in the session. This fulfils the section 2 of GDC which mentioned that effective communication with the patient is mandatory (GDC, 2018). It is evident as clear, concise and consistent interaction leads to clarified and effective way of communication. This is because such interaction makes the patient interested and not overflooded with information which makes them confused and disinterred in continuing the interaction (Alvarez and Schultz, 2018). In addition, consistency in communication makes the patients remain focused and easily understand the flow of the interaction to remain attached towards it (Stull and Lunos, 2019).

The other strength is that I asked appropriate questions in a good structure to John for his health assessment and explored the problem through discussion regarding the symptoms faced by him. The other positive aspect is that interaction was performed in a willing manner with no force to inform any data from the patient and I actively listened to his information. It indicated I have enhanced ability in making open communication. This is because open communication theory mentions the superiors and subordinates in the communication are to interact in a willing manner and be receptive listeners as well as refrain from negative responses (Klaassen et al., 2021).

Weakness

One of the weakness faced in making communication with John is that I did not informed him regarding the mechanism of the treatment and medication to be used in resolving the raised problem. It led me to violate the points mentioned for effective communication by the General Dental Council (GDC) which mentioned clarified information about the mechanism and way of treatment is to be informed to patients to create good communication (GDC, 2018). The other weakness faced is that I did not reassured John that the problem is minor and would be resolved entirely with effective treatment. The lack of reassurance of resolving any health issue from the health professionals leads the patients to become unnecessarily worried regarding their health and develop negative thoughts regarding their well-being (Price et al., 2018).

During communication with John, the other weakness faced is that I did not identify the cues expressed by the patient which would help me to determine the information he was hiding which lead to the current problem. This is evident as his cues regarding information of existing medication used was ignored where he mentioned using steroids. Thus, I expressed poor ability in making and understanding cues communication which indicated that I may not listen effectively to the patient. Active listening is part of non-verbal communication which is important as it helps in understanding minimal cues of information from the patient (Meyers, 2019).

Conclusion

The conclusion mentions improvement of my active listening skills which is to be done by creating more attention to specific details during communication. Moreover, to abide by the communication skills mentioned by GDC, I am going to enhance my descriptive skills in communication to inform patients clear concepts regarding the way referred care is going to improve their health.

References

Alvarez, S. and Schultz, J.H., 2018. A communication-focused curriculum for dental students–an experiential training approach. BMC Medical Education, 18(1), pp.1-6.

GDC 2018, Standards for the Dental Team, Available at: https://standards.gdc-uk.org/ [Accessed on: 17 November 2021]

Klaassen, H., Dukes, K. and Marchini, L., 2021. Patient satisfaction with dental treatment at a university dental clinic: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Dental Education, 85(3), pp.311-321.

Meyers, G., 2019. The things they don't teach you at dental school. BDJ Student, 26(3), pp.21-21.

Price, O., Baker, J., Bee, P. and Lovell, K., 2018. The support-control continuum: an investigation of staff perspectives on factors influencing the success or failure of de-escalation techniques for the management of violence and aggression in mental health settings. International journal of nursing studies, 77, pp.197-206.

Stull, C.L. and Lunos, S., 2019. Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding human papilloma virus communication and vaccine advocacy among Minnesota dentists and dental hygienists. American Dental Hygienists' Association, 93(1), pp.33-42.

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