Part I: Advice for a Co-Worker
Individuals receiving health care services have a diversity of characteristics including; culture, age, socioeconomic status, and other factors that can create communication challenges. If communication with health care workers is ineffective it impedes their ability to participate in their own health management. For this reason, several strategies have been developed for health care workers when communicating with clients in order to promote patient-centered care and patient safety.
In your opinion:
If you were orienting a new co-worker who has never worked in a healthcare environment, what would be the one (only one) bit of advice or tidbit of information you would share about communicating as a health care worker? Why do you think your choice is important?
Evaluate
Part II: Health Literacy
Apply what you know: Now that you have reviewed the materials from your previous courses and the assigned materials for this week, we will talk about the “AMA Health Literacy Video.”
WisLit. (2010). Youtube. [Video: 4:31]
AMA Health Literacy Video – Short Version CC
Let’s discuss the following using supporting evidence from the readings or your past course readings.
In the case of Mrs. Cordell-Seiple:
1a. Where did the breakdowns in communication occur for Mrs. Cordell-Seiple that allowed this unfortunate situation to occur?
1b. Mrs. Cordell-Seiple encountered multiple health care professionals throughout her story, how do you explain this egregious oversight by health professionals? What recommendations would you make to prevent repeat occurrences like this?
1c. What legal implications does this case have? Who is responsible?
Because of cultural differences in background/beliefs/values, there are key practices to keep in mind when instructing an individual on health information. Choose one communication strategy used in the videos this week and one from the AMA Health Literacy video.
2. Discuss why you think your chosen strategy will improve communication with that individual? What barriers to communication need to be overcome? How will the patient outcome be improved?
Read the examples of your classmates and build on their ideas.
Characters in the video are listed below, so you can refer to them by name:
Characters in the Video
Mrs. Tinsley
Mr. Dallas Mr. Day
Mr. Bell
Mr. Toussaint
Mother of 4-year-old Medicine box lady
Mrs. Cordell-Seiple
Required Reading
Codington-Lacerte, C. (2014). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Links to an external site.). Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Nairn, T. (2014). What we have here is a failure to communicate: The ethical dimension of health literacy (Links to an external site.). Health Progress, 95(4), 61-3.
Gordon, J.E., Deland, E., Kelly, R.E. (2015). Let’s talk about improving communication in healthcare (Links to an external site.). Columbia Medical Review 1(1), 23-27.
Burnison, G. (2019, January 2). What CEOs Look For: 5 Things To Ace The Interview. (Lincgoks to an external site.)
