Nonverbal communication is significant in a healthcare setting, for it can advance understanding between clinicians, nonmedical staff, and patients. Among the critical features of nonverbal communication are body language, facial expressions, gestures, and paralinguistics, and they must be used regularly and responsibly to ensure that the issue of misunderstanding is eliminated. Such elements convey information and emotions beyond verbal communication, and thus, they form a significant part of effective communication. Marcinowicz et al. (2010) consider that when patients have a positive perception of nonverbal communication, the level of understanding and a feeling of being accepted and accommodated in the healthcare facility and being involved in clinical decision-making advances.
Features of Nonverbal Communication
Haptics is a form of nonverbal communication in which nurses shake hands with patients, touch their heads, or hug them as a show of acceptance and unity. Such a practice makes the patients feel accepted and recognized in the healthcare facility and thus feel that their healthcare goals will be addressed and met.
Clinicians also use kinesics, a form of communication-based on body movement. The slow movement shows humility and oneness, and the nurses’ physical appearance advances it. Clinicians have to be bold and open-minded, for they need to make patients feel confident that they know what they are doing and that the quality of care will be optimal. Also, they shall have to observe the patient’s body movement to determine their pain and anxiety levels, thus contributing to clinical decision-making practices.
The clinicians must consider professional attire. They use specific clothing to show they are at work and differentiate themselves from the nonmedical staff. Such a practice is part of enhancing their professional image and trust that the level of care shall be optimal. Also, the attire sets the right standards of cultural sensitivity in which the clinicians are meant to act ethically and use professional competency when addressing or interacting with the patients.
The variable of doctor-patient proximity (proxemics) can impact the level and quality of their interpersonal relationships. If they are close, the patients will feel accepted and that they can be willing to share their medical history, thus helping with the clinical decisions. Also, the patients should be given their privacy, and this means that during their interactions with clinicians, some level of confidentiality should be observed; preferably, the interaction can be in a secure room that can influence patient comfort and satisfaction.
Clinicians must tailor themselves to using vocalists, particularly the right tone and pitch. They need to use an emphatic and passionate tone with a clear pitch to mitigate confusion. Such an approach will make their interaction clear and easy to understand, thus resulting in the patient’s ability and willingness to share their medical history.
Nurses can also consider the elements of reflective listening and emotional comfort in their interactions with patients. For instance, maintaining silence and avoiding disrupting the patient while speaking can make them express their emotions and the health challenges they have been undergoing. They will give the needed information without being rushed, which means the quality of clinical decisions will be advanced.
References
Marcinowicz, L., Konstantynowicz, J., & Godlewski, C. (2010). Patients’ perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study. British Journal of General Practice, 60(571), 83-87.
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