Health Care Communication Paper Essay

Our facility is going to be changing a lot in the weeks and months to come. As the administration of the nursing home, I am going to make sure that this transition happens as smoothly as possible. The patients that have decided to stay must try their hardest to adhere to the new policies that have been set. The patients that have decided to go somewhere else will very greatly missed. The patients who cannot communicate their decision for one reason or another will be placed where the staff and I see fit, whether it be in our facility or somewhere else. This facility wants to ensure all patients and residents that we want to make these changes as painless as possible. Thank all of you for the time you have given the staff and me these last ten years, and for the time you will give in the future. There are three different types of communication in the medical field: traditional communication, electronic communication, communication through social media. There are advantages and disadvantages to each different type of communication. Traditional communication includes speaking face to face and mail (letters). Electronic modes of communication are email phone (home or cell phone), texting, and chatting. Social media involves communicating with several people or just one person at a time using public forums or private messaging through such websites facebook and twitter. Each and every type of communication is equally as important as the other but they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Traditional forms of communication as simple as can be but they can confuse anyone if every step is not done correctly. You would think that speaking to someone face to face would be the best way to communicate but this is not always the case. Anyone can miscommunicate what they are trying to say. There can be other barriers like language barriers and also emotional barriers. If someone speaks a different language it can be hard to understand them unless there is an interpreter available, which isn’t always possible. Emotional barriers are hard because when health care is involved things can go wrong and people then become angry, sad, and/or tired. When this happens they may not want to listen to or respond to their doctors. Face to face communication is good too because you can ask questions then and there, and receive advice from your physician without having to wait too long. Mail can be very annoying because it can take days or weeks to reach its destination and more days or weeks to receive a response. The only good thing about mail would be that you will have documentation of your physician’s opinions and test results. Traditional communication methods have been around for a long time but times are changing and these types of communication are becoming few and far between. Electronic communication seems to be where most people end up communication, even to our doctors and other health care officials. We call, email, and even text to tell doctors and nurses our health care problems before we even consider actually going to a doctor’s office and speaking to the doctor in person. These communication techniques are good because we can receive answers to our questions also instantly if the health care official isn’t busy. One disadvantage is that someone may not get back to you as soon as you would like; which will leave you at home, wondering what you should do. Electronic communication isn’t exactly the best form of health care because if the doctor cannot actually see the patient and test their symptoms they cannot defiantly tell a patient what is wrong with them. Social media is becoming more and more popular every day because it is a way to keep in touch with people we don’t see every day. It has also become home for all kinds of new and old information, including health care information. This can be a great way to communicate about health care because people can learn new things about health care and medicine every day. People can also communicate with organizations full of doctors and nurses who can teach patients about any news in the health care world and advise patients on how to take care of themselves. This may sound great but there are terrible disadvantages to this type of health care communication. You never know who you are actually speaking to on the internet. What could appear to be an organization of doctors and nurses who want to offer free health care advice could be someone who knows absolutely nothing about medicine. Social media websites are not the best place to look for any sort of medical advice because patients want real help.