Communication Style Case Study
Daneal Dobbs
NUR/350
David Catoe

Communication Style Case Study Communication in the workplace is imperative for good patient outcomes. Not just any communication will do, though. Effective communication is key in forming positive relationships with staff and patients. Being respectful, kind and specific with communication techniques will benefit all who are involved. Noneffective communication, on the other hand, can do more harm than good. This paper will focus on three scenarios as well as a personal scenario and the type of communication that is used. Scenario one involves Rashad, who is an aide and Robin, who is a staff registered nurse (RN). Rashad and Robin are attending a staff meeting, and Rashad speaks about his role as an aide and how he tries to anticipate the needs of the patient. Robin quickly lets him know that he is only an aide, and he needs just to do what he is told. Rashad did not voice anything else but rather sat quietly plotting his revenge against Robin (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). Robin’s response to Rashad was aggressive. Rashad’s initial response to sitting down and be quiet was passive, but his quiet plotting for revenge is passive/aggressive. Passiveness in Rashad’s case probably prevented an outburst or argument in the middle of this team meeting. Unfortunately, he is sitting quietly planning revenge on Robin. By not saying anything else, Rashad is exhibiting passive behavior but the plotting for revenge is his aggressive behavior. Robin was very aggressive in how she addressed Rashad. She was demeaning and disrespectful. Robin did not have to speak in the manner she did to Rashad and in turn, she has probably made an enemy. Rashad had spoken about being anticipatory to his patient’s needs. This behavior could show Rashad as being assertive towards the patients. He decides that he will not do another thing unless he is specifically asked to do it. This behavior is not good for the working relationship of the staff nor is it a good situation for the patients. By Robin being aggressive, she may have harmed the staff relationships as well as the patient/staff relationships. In the second scenario, Pamela is a school nurse. She was following up on some work that was done by a volunteer named Brigite. Pamela questions the accuracy of the work because of a change in the readings. Because of these changes, Pamela feels that the testing needs to be repeated. Pamela decides to repeat the testing herself instead of talking to Brigite. This behavior from Pamela could be viewed as passive or non-assertive. Passive or nonassertive responses are also termed avoidance (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). For whatever reason, Pamela does not want to talk to Brigite about the results of the tests. Pamela may have a fear of rejection or retaliation caused by displeasing others. Conflict is avoided at the price of denying one’s feelings and needs (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). Pamela decides to redo the tests herself instead of addressing the issue with Brigite. This creates more stress and work for Pamela. By talking to Brigite, Pamela could find out if Brigite’s technique was right and if the results were accurate. Instead, she takes the passive route and decides on repeating the tests herself. In this particular scenario, through constant acquiescence, the goals of others get accomplished, not the goals of the passive person (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). Pamela passively shows that she does not trust Brigite to do the job the right way. In scenario three, Rosa manages a surgical center. Mabel is one of the scrub technicians at the surgical center. Mabel decides she cannot scrub into any orthopedic cases because it is too physically stressful on her. Rosa tried to explain to Mabel that it was part of her job to be involved in the orthopedic cases. Rosa also explained to Mabel that she wanted the staff to work as a team, as well as use their strengths to provide the best care for the patient. In return, Mable threatened Rosa’s job and informed her that her grandfather was the chairman of the board (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). This scenario reveals assertive behavior exhibited by Rosa and aggressive behavior exhibited by Mabel. Aggressive behavior often prevails in the conflict situation. The aggressor wants to dominate and hurt the other. The aggressor has a brutal directness, and it fosters fear, resistance, sabotage and resentment in the listener (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). Rosa is the assertive one. Rosa is clear and concise in what she expects of Mabel. She addresses Mabel’s issue of not wanting to scrub on orthopedic cases with respect and does so without belittling herself or Mabel in the process (Hansten & Jackson, 2009). Most assertive people are respected and trusted. Assertive people are straightforward and do their best to address issues without personal feelings being involved. A personal scenario centers on a passive/aggressive staff member. As a brand new nurse, the pressure was on to do the very best that could be done. As with any new nurse, mistakes were occasionally made. The few times that mistakes were made, the superior assured the new nurse that it was ok and not to worry about it. Unknown to this new nurse was the fact that the superior was writing up incident reports and giving them to the CNO. These incident reports were not known until a meeting was called by the CNO with the new nurse. Reprimands were made to the new nurse and unfortunately, the new nurse was left in tears over this sneaky form of preceptorship. Hard feelings were formed, and trust was broken. Someone who was supposed to be a mentor had assured the new nurse that everyone makes mistakes and not to worry about but secretly threw the new nurse under the bus with the CNO. This new nurse did not stay at this facility much longer due to the passive/aggressive issues of her mentor. In this personal scenario, the passive/aggressive mentor damaged the trust factor for this brand new nurse. Had the mentor told the new nurse that these mistakes would be written up; the new nurse would have known what to expect. Instead, she was blind sighted and reprimanded for something that she thought was no big deal, according to the mentor. The passive/aggressive person is not a trustworthy person. Their actions seem secretive and harmful. Their actions also seem to benefit no one but themselves. This mentor could have communicated to the new nurse that she might be called into a conference with the CNO for the mistakes she had made. The mentor could have let the new nurse know that there were consequences for her mistakes. Instead, she acted as if the mistakes were no big deal. From this experience with her mentor, the new nurse found it hard to trust anyone she worked with. The new nurse dreaded being called into future bosses offices for the simple reason that it brought back feelings of hurt, distrust and frustration although most times the new nurse was not in trouble. The mentor should have used effective communication with the new nurse. That is what a mentor is for; to help train new nurses and minimize the incidence of mistakes. With the fast pace of nursing, mistakes are bound to be made. The outcome of a mistake all depends on how it is handled. This was a valuable lesson for the new nurse because it taught her always to respect the staff she is working with, use effective communication, be specific with her expectations of staff and always be honest and truthful. If a nurse cannot trust her staff, who can she trust? When a nurse is not effective with her communication, it leaves jobs undone and staff confused. This is why effective communication is so very important in nursing.

References
Hansten, R. I., & Jackson, M. (2009). Clinical Delegation Skills: a handbook for professional practice (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.