Mastering Effective Communication Skills for Healthcare Professionals

 Communication skills are one of the most important interpersonal skills that every professional should possess irrespective of their field of work and position. These skills help professionals convey their ideas effectively, discuss important matters, build trust among team members, and climb up the ladder of their profession. However, good communication skills are all the more important for healthcare providers including doctors, nurses, and other support staff as their discussions revolve around patients' health conditions and treatment plans. Moreover, they need to communicate with patients and their relatives in a clear yet empathetic manner so that they understand the condition, prognosis, and treatment plan without panicking about the whole situation. So, below are a few tips that can help healthcare providers enhance their communication skills. To gain perfection and recognized certifications, one can attend online workshops and upskilling programs organised by CAHO (Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations) as they are specially designed to refine Communication Skills For Healthcare Professionals working across the country. Any healthcare professional should be the master of this essential art. Read on!!

No matter how good a healthcare professional is at expressing themselves or describing a health condition, their communication skills fail if they do not listen to what the other person (their patient or their teammate) has to say. Listening carefully with patience is an important part of communication. Healthcare providers should listen to their patient’s concerns as well as other healthcare experts' suggestions before responding accordingly. Therefore, spare a minute, let the other person express their thoughts freely, listen carefully, and then speak appropriately. 

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Next comes, Body language. Yes, it is a non-verbal type of communication that plays an important role in building the patient-health expert relationship. The healthcare provider should be able to observe and comprehend the patient’s body language while maintaining their own to show no signs of disinterest or apathy. 

Honesty is essential in the field of healthcare. Both the patient and the provider should communicate honestly and share all the necessary information without hiding anything. Hiding facts or data can lead to critical consequences in this field. Patients and their relatives rely on their healthcare providers and trust them with their health and life. Therefore, healthcare providers should communicate in such a way that it increases their credibility and dependability. They should be able to take responsibility and accept mistakes or misjudgments if the need arises. While healthcare professionals should be friendly with their patients, they must also maintain the utmost professionalism. They should confine themselves from sharing their personal opinions and stick to only offering their clinical expertise. 

Being a healthcare organization, it is a huge responsibility to upskill the workforce to provide the best healthcare services to your patients. Therefore, even after becoming a certified healthcare provider, professionals should keep working on their skills to further improve the quality of services offered to them. CAHO is an authorised body that works in the same direction. It offers short-term upskilling courses, such as communication skills for healthcare professionals, etc. So wait no more!! Join the program now to upskill or polish your skills and be an effective service provider!!

Top 5 Advantages of Fire Safety Training for Hospital Staff

Fire safety training for healthcare professionals reduces the likelihood of fires starting and gives them the confidence to deal with emergencies. Staff that have fire safety training will be able to act accordingly to keep themselves and others safe during times of need. In India, CAHO (Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations) is an authorised body to provide several training programs for upskilling healthcare staff. It offers Fire Safety Training for Hospital Staff, as Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness courses, to bridge the gap between the knowledge and fire protection system. Let us go through various advantages of fire safety training for the staff of any healthcare organization!!

Recognize the potential hazards

Healthcare staff trained to ensure safety from the fire would learn to recognize various potential hazards and would take necessary actions in advance to avoid such mishappenings. They will also guide the patients and other staff members in safety measures.

Conduct risk assessment

The trained professionals would conduct a risk assessment at regular intervals to ensure the smooth functioning of all the departments of the hospital. Hospitals go for regular fire audits as well. Thus, working on the principle of prevention is better than a cure. So, it is always ready to prevent such incidents beforehand with the necessary risk assessment and rectifying the problems. Or issues that may lead to a fire.

Protects patients and staff

The team specially trained would be able to respond well in case of fire, and will help save the lives of the staff and patients. They would help them to escape the building safely in minimal time. This training is necessary for the whole staff, as it needs activeness on part of each member.

Boost confidence and ensures peace of mind

As we all understand when there is any such mishap, anyone can lose his or her patience and can panic. It is very important for professionals to deal with the fire with a calm and composed mind, only then they can find solutions and can perform. Getting training on fire safety would boost the confidence of the staff.

Abide by the government guidelines

All healthcare institutions must follow government-laid guidelines to ensure the safety and security of the patients and the staff. So having a trained staff is not only mandatory but would build goodwill for the hospital. 

In India, CAHO is a renowned platform, where you can enroll at your convenience for online, offline, or workshop-mode programs to enhance and polish your skills from time to time. The organization understands the need for skilled healthcare professionals who not only possess subject knowledge but should have a convincing personality. On this line, it offers Communication Skills For The Healthcare Professional program to build a strong and confident personality at each front. Explore the website to go through various courses in detail and enroll in the course of your choice!!!

 

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Healthcare Infrastructure: Nurses are The Backbone

Someone rightly said that nurses are the backbone of any healthcare infrastructure. It is once again proved right in the times of COVID-19. Everyone realised the vital role that nurses play in any healthcare facility and in our life too. Each healthcare professional agrees proudly on the importance of a nurse in saving the lives of a lot of people. They are the front line warriors amongst the whole team. A nurse is the one who first communicates with the patients and then on a routine basis takes a lot of care about every aspect of treatment guidelines as a pro. It is very important to have excellent communication skills for the healthcare professionals to clarify the patients’ doubts and build trust. Trust is the basis for successful treatment. Nurses remain with the patient 24x7 in hospitals.

Nurses are the front line warriors to carry out patient care at any healthcare facility and they used to play a vital role each minute to ensure the safety and speedy recovery of all the patients. Their selfless devotion in efficiently managing the COVID times is exceptional. The spread of COVID infection has imposed several challenges to come out as a winner. The entire healthcare infrastructure was on its toes day and night to fight the infection. It was a tough job to look after a large number of non-stop cases and to keep their safety at stake. But the healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, and the whole staff were on rolls 24x7, looking after cases while maintaining all the safety precautions.

 

Nursing has been a noble profession for ages. It is indeed an exhausting and selfless job to look after any infected case without any hesitation. Nurses are the right hand of their team leader i.e a doctor or a surgeon in all aspects. With the support of their teammates and doctors, nurses keep on providing care to all the patients. They also keep them positive in every crucial situation, filling them with hope.

 

Nurses work tirelessly to fulfil the requirements of the patients with the utmost attention. Despite wearing the cumbersome PPE kit and other safety gadgets the team worked cheerfully and supported the patients emotionally as well. The whole team of healthcare professionals work under any circumstance. They may not have been keeping so well, were devoid of family and home, sometimes don't even get the food on time, but were always wearing a never fading smile to boost the morale of the patients. So a highly skilled nursing staff is an asset of the facility.

 

Hardships and challenges faced during COVID times emphasised the need for skilling and upskilling courses for the healthcare professionals, be it a doctor, a nurse or any other support staff working for the patients’ care. In India, recognised bodies like CAHO (Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations) are offering several courses like infection control nurse courses, communication skills, fire safety training programs, etc. for the training and upskilling of healthcare professionals. Interested professionals can visit CAHO’s website to check eligibility, course content and other details.

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The Importance of Fire Safety Training in the Healthcare Industry

 

The healthcare industry bears the onus of taking care of people’s health and life. It needs to ensure that the patients dependent upon it for their well-being are safe and away from all sorts of risks and dangers when they are on the premises of a healthcare organisation, including fire. While fire safety is important for all buildings, it is even more crucial for hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic centres and other such complexes since patients in critical condition may be vulnerable and unable to take care of themselves in the case of fire. 

Why is fire safety training crucial for healthcare organisations? 

Nowadays, many people are aware of the safety measures that should be taken in case of an emergency. However, patients admitted to healthcare organisations may be unable to take those safety measures as: 

• They may be unaware of their surroundings 

• They may have mobility issues 

• They may not know what to do in case of emergency 

• They may be dependent upon a ventilator machine 

• They may be unconscious 

• They may not be old enough to understand the situation 

Therefore, a fire accident at a healthcare organisation can pose danger to the lives of a high number of people. 

Additionally, hospitals may house chemicals, combustible substances, oxygen cylinders, a kitchen or canteen, etc., all of which can lead to fire outbreaks and allow the fire to spread quickly. This makes fire safety training all the more important for healthcare organisations. 

How can healthcare facilities achieve fire safety? 

1. Kitchens, canteens and laboratories should be monitored and not left unattended. Flammable liquids, like oils, and stove fuel should be stored well and regularly checked for any leakage. All the electrical cords in such areas should be specially checked for tears or frays. Extra portable fire extinguishers should be placed in such high-risk zones. 

2. In addition to the electrical wires of the kitchen and lab, all the other electrical outlets and cords should be regularly checked. It should be ensured that all the cords and wires are away from flammable materials. 

3. The complete staff, irrespective of their job role, should be trained well so that they are aware of safety procedures. Organisations like CAHO (the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations) offer certification programmes for fire safety training for hospital staff. So, healthcare organisations should get their staff enrolled in such recognised courses and conduct mock drills to stay fully prepared. 

4. Fire extinguishers’ location and condition should be checked regularly so that the faulty ones can be replaced in time. The volume of their content should also be checked to stay prepared at the time of emergency. 

5. An action plan that includes the instructions for evacuation should be in place and the staff should be familiar with this action plan. 

6. Regular meetings, vigilance monitoring and fire safety audit should be conducted to check whether the organisation can deal with a fire accident. 

Conclusion 

To ensure the complete health, safety and well-being of its patients, visitors and staff, healthcare organisations must keep in mind the above-mentioned points. Recognised courses, such as fire safety training for hospital staff, offered by CAHO can help the healthcare industry to achieve fire safety. 

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Improving Quality of Maternal Care in Health Facilities

While India has made major progress over the past decades to improve the quality of care for women and children, there is still a disparity in proper utilisation of healthcare services. For an expecting mother, the quality of care she receives during and after pregnancy affects not just her health, but also the health of the child. Though there has been an uptick in parents preferring a healthcare organisation for delivery, some facilities still lack the proper quality of care required for the mother. Healthcare professionals such as nurses play a fundamental role in ensuring proper care among women and newborns. 

For expecting mothers, several aspects need to be taken care of to ensure a risk-free delivery and postpartum. Here are some areas that need to be improved to ensure the quality of maternal healthcare. 

 Right Care at the Right Time

For an expecting mother, it is generally advised that before delivery, they should have had at least 8 routine checkups done. This is important for detecting and managing any potential problem and minimising the risk of stillbirth. Any healthcare worker who has attended proper nursing training programs should be able to provide support to women. This includes information related to pregnancy, tips on choosing healthy food and following a healthy lifestyle, educating about family planning, etc. 

Positive Communication with Women

Effective communication is required between healthcare workers and expecting mothers to reduce any tension or anxiety they might have towards pregnancy. To make childbirth a positive experience, they should receive every information about their care as well as feel involved in decisions made regarding the delivery of their newborn. 

Prevent the Risk of Hospital-acquired Infections

Hospital-acquired infections not only increase the cost of care for a mother but also adds to the risk of disease or even death. That is why healthcare workers need to take extra precautions to prevent such an outbreak. Precautionary steps include washing hands with soap and water or rubbing alcohol-based sanitizer before examining a patient, safe disposal of infectious waste and disinfecting instruments in the procedure room after every delivery. 

Well-trained Staff Available to Provide Care

Healthcare organisations need to have competent, well-trained staff and skilled professionals that are present in sufficient numbers throughout the day to manage the expected workload and sometimes, even emergency cases. That is why the healthcare workforce needs to focus on professional education that builds on their experience and gets them ready for such eventuality. The Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations or CAHO is an eminent body regulating the healthcare organisations that offers various workshops on such areas. They also provide various training programmes like nursing training programs, hospital training programmes, infection control nurse course, etc. 

Improving the quality of care for expectant mothers is a good indicator to showcase how much we have progressed as a country. This improvement is not only critical for the safety of the women but also crucial for reducing preventable maternal and newborn mortality.

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Need for Accreditations for Healthcare Organisations During the Times of COVID-19

 Healthcare professionals play a major role in maintaining the health and well-being of communities by being on duty 24x7. Earlier, their selfless service and contribution went mostly unnoticed. It took a global pandemic for people to recognise the diligence of the complete healthcare fraternity. While healthcare organisations (HCOs) are serving the nation day and night amid the outbreak of COVID-19, the need for certain accreditations has risen exponentially for them. 

Proper training, certifications and accreditations are necessary for this industry as it holds a direct and major responsibility towards the lives of people. That is why there is a constant need to upgrade and improve the quality of healthcare services in a world which is advancing rapidly. COVID-19 has further raised the demand to elevate the standard of service delivered. This is essential for not only the betterment of patients but also for the growth and safety of HCOs and its staff. 

Why does qualified healthcare staff require further training? 

Learning is a continuous process. Everyday new technology and lifestyle changes are coming up along with new challenges for this industry. There is always a scope of growth and improvement in almost every field, therefore, such training programmes and certifications are necessary to keep up with the modern requirements and enhance one’s professional skills. From doctors and nurses to quality managers of a hospital, everyone can join a relevant programme to unlock huge growth potential. This will also help them in improving the quality and safety of healthcare services they offer during the current global humanitarian crisis of coronavirus. 

What kind of training and certifications programmes are available? 

Short-term online and onsite training programmes are now available across the nation so that healthcare professionals can easily achieve related certification. Training programmes are available on various subject matters like Emergency Department Quality and Patient Safety, Cyber Security in Hospitals, Hospital Infection Control, Laboratory Quality Management System, and Quality Implementation in Hospitals. Programmes related to infection control and cyber-security have become all the more important amid COVID-19 pandemic. Special nursing training programmes are also available for the nursing staff of HCOs. 

How to get a recognised certification? 

Interested healthcare workers can enrol into recognised training programmes offered by CAHO (Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations). It is a not-for-profit organisation which offers training and certifications to doctors, nurses, technicians and administrators for continuous quality improvement. To achieve full accreditation standards, two levels of a programme - basic and advanced, must be completed by an individual. CAHO works in association with NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) and also supports healthcare organisations with no or entry-level accreditations to go towards the full accreditation standards. 

The COVID-19 outbreak demands for an as high speed of quality improvement in the healthcare sector as that of its spread. Considering this, CAHO has conducted several webinars on topics like operating room challenges during pandemic and communication skills that doctors need during this time. Therefore, healthcare organisations and professionals should seek continuous training for better management and quality improvement.

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Dealing with Hospital-acquired Infections

As is most of the world, India too is currently going through a period of transition. In spite of devising various national programmes to keep such diseases under control, infectious diseases are still a major concern in our country. The outbreak of Coronavirus clearly depicts the importance of having a backup plan to counter such diseases. And this also goes for the diseases that were believed to be eliminated previously such as tuberculosis, cholera, dengue, H1N1, Nipah, etc., which are making a comeback in some areas. All of this has led to a sharp rise in the number of patients that require immediate attention in the hospital, thus increasing the pressure on doctors.   

Besides the biggest factor behind this situation being the unsanitary conditions that surround the majority of Indians, there is another factor that affects a lot of citizens i.e. hospital-acquired infections. According to the present scenario,  India has an alarming rate of intensified infections, almost one infection per 4 visits. Plus these infections can be quite serious and difficult to treat, sometimes even more challenging than dealing with ordinary pathogens. 

However, with strict adherence to norms and protocols as well as conducting intensive hospital training programs, it can be ensured that such infections are under control. Health care professionals should observe some basic procedures when dealing with infected patients in hospitals:

1. Always ensure the use of new and sterilised equipment. 
2. Maintaining hygiene is of paramount importance for a hospital. Ensure that it is free of mosquitoes, pests or other insects. 
3. For professionals who need to deal with infected patients on a regular basis, they should make sure to wash the contaminated skin and hands as soon as possible and should wear disposable gloves during the check-up. 
4. Measures such as masks, gloves, gowns etc. should be taken care of in case the health professionals come in direct contact with blood, lesions, tissue fluid, etc. 
5. When providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, ensure that adequate mouth protection is used. 
6. Try to avoid letting the patients go out of their designated rooms. In case they need to go, a professional should always accompany them.  

A good option for healthcare organisations to deal with hospital-acquired infections is to introduce courses that would improve the control skills of the professionals. For example, the Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO), is a recognised non-profit organisation that strongly believes in promoting, improving, and sharing quality healthcare practices to healthcare professionals across the country. They host various healthcare training programmes such as training to deal with communicable diseases, enhanced clinical communication skills, quality implementation in hospitals and much more. 

 

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A Guide for the Healthcare Providers to Deal with Communicable Diseases

The count of communicable diseases that are plaguing the Indian population is increasing rapidly. This includes the diseases which were believed to be eliminated previously like cholera, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, dengue, West Nile virus, H1N1, and Nipah. This means that the number of patients that hospitals will be attending to would be increased. The reasons behind this situation are unsanitary conditions around the habitat of majority Indians, a weak immune system, and lack of nourishment in the general public.

The rate of infections is intensified with cases of hospital-acquired  infections, which is particularly high in India in relation to developed nations. The rate is alarming at one infection per four hospital visits. Usually, patients are often infected with multi-drug resistant strains of pathogens from hospitals, whose treatment is far more challenging than ordinary pathogens.

Hospital-acquired  infections can only be reduced with strict adherence to norms and protocols, and intensive training programmes for health care professionals, like infection control nurse courses. Having said that, here are some basic procedures to be observed while caring for patients with infectious diseases in hospitals:

1. Include cautious measures by using gloves, masks, eyewear, gowns, etc. especially in the circumstances involving contact with blood, bleeding lesions, tissue fluid, vaginal fluid, semen, etc.
2. Wash contaminated skin as soon as possible, and hands should also be washed after removal of gloves, before attending the next patient.
3. Puncture injuries should be avoided.
4. Mouth protection should be used during mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
5. New or sterilised equipment should be used.
6. Hospitals should be kept free of mosquitoes, pests and other vectors.
7. Patients should be taken out of their rooms only if absolutely necessary.
8. Pregnant health care workers should be doubly cautious and observant of all the disease-specific protocols.

Along with infection control nurse courses, healthcare providers should also attend courses that impart communication skills for healthcare professionals. The consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO), is one such recognised non-profit organisation that strongly believes in continuously promoting, improving, and sharing the best healthcare practices across platforms. CAHO hosts various healthcare training programmes like fire safety training for hospital staff, training to deal communicable diseases, communication skills for the healthcare professional, cybersecurity training and others for the hospital staff and much more. You can visit their website to know more!

 

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