You will need to discuss your ability to adapt models skills and strategies to best fit with your clients needs the context and your own role as a practitioner. In addition you will need to discuss your awareness of personal professional and organisational barriers and/or hindrances to the development of the person centred approach in practice. Also you will need to support your discussion with sources of evidence such as models and/or approaches that identifies and explores strategies for sustaining new developments and change in personal and professional practice.
NOTE
Below I have outline guidelines for your essay. This is not an exhaustive list of what you should include in your essay it is some of the points you should consider when writing your essay and a suggested structure to use.
I have listed my ideas for what can be included in each section. This is not to suggest the order in which to include information or subheadings for sections of the essay.
Introduction
For the introduction you should identify the area of practice in which you work and the use of person centred communication (PCC) within this field.
Discuss the importance of communication in nursing. Why do nurses need to communicate with patients and colleagues more effectively? Consider this in relation to the evidence on communication in nursing. Are nurses effective communicators? Do they communicate sufficiently with patients?
What are the positive aspects of PCC How does it enhance patient care? Relate this to evidence of its application and effectiveness.
Relate the reasons to the literature local and national policy. The Code of Conduct for nurses our accountability and duty of care to our patients.
Person Centred communication
What is communication models of communication: linear and transactional models. Relating this to how we communicate as nurses in the clinical setting
What is person centred communication? Describe the skills needed to communicate effectively in a caring environment.
Describe the skills and attributes of PCC. Warmth empathy unconditional positive regard genuineness and trust.
Consider self-awareness what self-awareness is and why it is important in being person centred as well as being important for reflective practice. Relate this to literature on self-awareness and reflection.
Describe the basis of PCC theories and perspective that underlie the approach
Effective listening skills (summarising reflection of content and feelings paraphrasing and summarising)
The Use of SOLER and/or SURETY. Consider these two approaches comparing them the critique of SOLER by (Stickley 2011 Williams and Stickley 2010)Consider the limitations in applying these models within the nursing field where the conditions are not always optimal
Critically analyse the above approaches. For example can we really give people unconditional positive regard? Are there other theories and ideas of human motivation and development?
Is there empirical evidence to support the theory and the skills?
What is the evidence for the effectiveness of PCC?
Describe the barriers to using PCC in healthcare. This could include discussions of the physical environment and whether this provides adequate time and confidential areas to talk with patients/ families and staff.
What is the culture of nursing? Sometimes nursing emphasises the tasks and clinical skills and spending time with people is not seen as so valuable. Discuss this in relation to the literature on nursing.