Communication Theory
Vicki L. Fowler
HCS/320
September 26, 2011
Sharon Williams

Communication Theory
Successful communication is a requirement of any organization. Communication is the foundation that makes each department work together. In health care, communication is vital to the very care given to patients. At times communication is a matter of life or death. Barbara Stoner Gingerich states “with computerization and electronic communication such as email being used more frequently, communication many times take place without any interpersonal interaction”. (Stoner Gingerich, 2005). Making communication more vital.
In this paper the communication processes of group and teams at Community Hospital Anderson will be examined. And how gender and cultural differences come into play, affecting communication at CHA. Also examined will be communication among coworkers, management, patients, families and caregivers. Any improvements that could be made will also be mentioned.
CHA consists of four floors of patient rooms, and emergency room, radiology department, an outpatient lab testing department, a surgery department, human resources department, and a laboratory department. Environment services department, and food service. The hospital employees roughly 700 employees. Each department has a department director, and manager, plus each shift has a general supervisor. The patient floors also have a charge nurses on duty around the clock. All directors, managers, supervisors, and charge nurses generally communicate and work well together, with department meeting once per week. However administration only meets with department directors on a monthly basis. There are meeting with administration and general hospital staff on a quarterly basis. Communication between departments as a whole seems to be poor. Each department seems to communicate effectively with their own department. When a mistake is made, or something fails to get ordered for the care of the patient, several departments will blame the next department for the mistake. This hospital seems to have problems with “clicks” happening solely with the female staff, not all female employees are treated fairly in this organization, and much improvement needs to be accomplished on employees getting along with each other.
The impact of gender and cultural differences as regards to communication does not seem to cause a problem for this organization. Female employees seem to be the only employees that have problems communicating with one another. All employees, upon hiring are given a one week orientation process with cultural diversity, and communication skills training, however seems as though it is not implemented once the employee gets on the floor to work with their peers. Cultural diversity does not seem to be an issue, as this hospital is in a small mid western city with little in the way of a diverse population. Upper end management members seem far removed from the rest of the staff of the hospital. There is a meeting quarterly, held by upper management, where all staff are informed of financial matters, and any news of department change. These meeting are not question and answer meeting and moral seems to be low in all departments.
Communication with patients, families, and patient caregivers seems to be relaxed, and caring, with the occasional lack of compassion by some caregivers. The electronic medical record system seems to keep nurses from having adequate focus for the patient, making eye contact with them seems to be nonexistent. Patients are being transferred to the hospital floor from the emergency department, and being asked the very same history questions as was asked them in the emergency department, causing a wasting of time in caring for the patients. Also found are departments caring for the patient, such as the laboratory, and radiology, not communicating with each other in the scheduling time with the patient to perform necessary diagnostic testing, much time is being waited looking for patients by the diagnostic departments.
The recommendation for improvement would be for each department have a short meeting each week to discuss any changes that need to be made in communication with each person working the department. Suggestion boxes should be placed in each department for employee suggestions for improvement, this will boost morale, and give employees a since of control over their daily work activities. Communication skills should be re enforced on a quarterly basis to benefit the communication between employees, and between employees and patients and their families. Due to the high amount of complaints from departments about other departments, it is recommended that each employee spend a small amount of time in other departments learning how things are done. In conclusion, rising costs and medical errors cause significant concern. Policymakers and healthcare experts continue to lament the fact that despite being one of the most expensive systems in the world, the U.S. healthcare system is far from being high-performance. (Agarwal, Sands, & Schneider, July) Communication is the key to success of any organization. Especially vital is the communication that occurs in the healthcare community.

References
Agarwal, R., Sands, D., & Schneider, J. (July-August 2010). Healthcare Management. Journal of Health Management, 55(4), 265-81.
Du Pre, A. (2005). Communicating about health: Current issues and perspectives (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Stoner Gingerich, B. (January 6, 2005). Leadership Style and Communication. Home Healthcare Management and Practice, 0(0), 1-2.