MISCOMMUNICATION

Miscommunication Between English Speaking And Non-English Speaking Co-Workers



Miscommunication Between English Speaking And Non-English

Introduction

Communication is the foundation for all team functioning. It requires that all team members should cooperate to establish ongoing communication with each other, with the patient, and family for the sole purpose of developing an integrated care plan that addresses each aspect of the needed care. The provision of effective coordinated care requires the team to have an effective mechanism for the exchange of information. To provide effective, coordinated care, a team must have an efficient mechanism for exchange of information. At the simplest level, this requires the time, space, and regular opportunity for members to meet and discuss various issues. An ideal system for interdisciplinary team communication includes a well-designed record system, a regularly scheduled forum for members to discuss patient management issues, a regularly scheduled forum to discuss and evaluate team function and development, and to address related interpersonal issues (Tyler, A. 1995).Effective communication relies on listening, explaining perceptions, acknowledging, and discussing the differences and similarities in views, recommending appropriate treatment, and negotiating agreement.

In our increasingly diverse workplaces, language and cultural barriers can exist among members of a team. These barriers can make it difficult for one member to understand the finer points in the meanings, intentions, and reactions of other team members. Our cultural heritage, our sex, our class, and our stage of life - all of these influence our use of language and our perception of others. Some degree of cultural competency must be in place for team members to effectively communicate with each other as well as with patients and family members.Decision-making and conflict resolution are also components of the communication process that must be acknowledged by teams.Establishing a planned process for decision-making is essential, and the process must also take resolution of conflicts into account, because conflict is inevitable. The group process must integrate openness and confrontation, support and trust, cooperation and conflict, sound procedures for solving problems and getting things done, and good communication.

Some barriers to effective communication and teamwork at the team level include lack of a clearly stated, shared and measurable purpose. Lack of training in interdisciplinary collaboration, role and leadership ambiguity, team too large or too small, and team not composed of appropriate professionals and lack of appropriate mechanisms for timely exchange of information. Even among team members of similar cultural backgrounds, members need to recognize and value the different competencies and approaches of different disciplines. People do not need to think the same to be unified. The key to team success is to value the differences on the team and use such diversity to achieve the team's common purpose.Barriers to communication range from the lack of a shared language born of differences in core values and terminology used by different disciplines, to systems and organizational barriers. In a busy organization, one of the major hurdles is finding the time for a team meeting and developing methods for effective team ...