Communication Styles
Developing cooperation relationships in the workplace involves respect and understanding. Often, conflict result from responses that create negative emotions. Understanding communication styles provides useful skills that proactively prevent conflict, or create opportunities for a positive resolution. Checkpoint 8-4, from chapter 8 of Clinical Delegation Skills, provides an exercise to identify and analyze communication styles that led to conflict in the workplace (Hansten & Jackson, 2009).
Aggressive vs. Assertive
In this situation, the psychiatric nurse Robin was aggressive and Rashad, the nursing aid, had used a passive style of communication. For effective communication and delegation, they should apply assertive communication. Assertive communication produces positive effects because it contains balance and clarity for work to finish properly. To be a successful team, team members must do their work and duties. Robin’s statements were aggressive; her presence’s was to intimidate, dominate, and humiliate subordinates. That is not acceptable communication style; therefore, leads to negative feedback as Rashad is planning to plot against Robin.
“Authors DeLellis and Sauer (2004) suggest that there are many components of respectful communication including active listening, assertive speech, and avoidance of passive–aggressive communication” (Hansten & Jackson, 2009, p 278). If I were placed in this situation, I would explain to Rashad what his duties as a nursing aid rather than make him feel humiliated. “Disturbingly, they found that 79% of the respondents to their survey indicated that workplace respect was seriously lacking in the United States, and that if healthcare workers would respect each other as much as they respect their patients, the work setting would significantly improve”(Hansten & Jackson, 2009, p 278). Passive behavior leads to loss of self-respect and self-esteem. This type of behavior offers coworkers mental stress, negativity in workplace, and lower team performance.
Speak Up
Pamela should have discussed her concerns with Brigite first, before doing the tests again. In this case, Pamela was nonassertive; she lacked the inner strength to confront Brigite, which caused Brigite to remain ignorant and unconscious of her mistakes. Before becoming an official nurse, we are mandated to take the nurses’ oath. Under the nurses’ oath, it is imperative that nurses must educate the community. Education is the basis of the nursing world; nurses must be willing to teach and instruct society properly. Pamela was