On Saturday January 25, my boyfriend and I went to Roosters for dinner, where I casually observed how others communicated. I was able to clearly see verbal and nonverbal forms of communication amongst other individuals. Also, I noticed how dependent we are on our technology.

First, I will be discussing about our waiter. Her nonverbals included: eye contact when speaking, casual tone of voice, and soft and smiling facial expression. Her verbal communication was asking us what we wanted to eat. She was clear and concise, and she performed feedback to make sure that she got the correct order.  Therefore, I felt like our waiter was very well engaged with our conversation and had confidence in that she will get our order right. Comparing our waiter to nurses, it is critical to perform feedback to make sure that our patient understands what we taught them with patient education or what we just said.

Another observation I made was of a father and his young daughter sitting across from us. The father used nonverbal gestures that included: pointing at words or items, gentle and endearing facial expression, and tone of voice was soft and loving. The father’s verbal communication was explaining to his daughter what each item on the menu consist of in terms that she will understand. This technique used in verbal communication is similar to what medical professionals do because when speaking to our patients, we do not want to use medical jargon. We want to have clear and effective communication; thus, we need to communicate in layman terms.

The final observation that I made showed how dependent our society relies on technology. Next to us, a couple were engaging in conversation until the lady got up and left the table. When the man was left alone, he immediately grabbed his phone. Once she returned, he put his phone down and engaged in conversation again with her. This demonstrates how we learned as a society to fear silence or looking like you are not communicating. As a nurse, we need to overcome the urge to break the silence at times. Silence can allow patients to collect their thoughts, understand what is going on around them or the ability to express their feelings. Therefore, silence can be a good thing at times. Also, another observation I made with technology is the use of cellphones at the table amongst a group of individuals. Instead of communicating with each other, the group were on their phones. This observation shows how technology can get in the way of being in the moment. It is crucial that as nurses we do not let technology interfere with our communication with patients. For example, moving the computer monitor to make eye contact with your patient while they are talking can build trust in patient-provider relationship.

Overall, these observations that I made can be applied to what I could face during clinical and during my career as a nurse. Also, observing others made me realize what I do on a daily basis without thinking, and what I could possibly change to help my communication with others.

Hi Cristina!

My name is Kathy Cordova and I am a third year. Before deciding to switch my career to nursing, I was majoring in biochemistry and was on the pre-med track. After learning more about nursing and how nursing takes a holistic view on the healthcare, I realized how much nursing aligned with my values. Also, I really appreciated how nursing has flexible hours and shifts, thus allowing me to be more involved with my family. Another huge plus in the flexible hours is having the ability to travel. I follow an ICU nurse on Instagram, and almost every week she is traveling to a new country. I love traveling; thus, I would definitely love to broaden my horizons with experiencing new cultures, new experiences, and new food.

My interests in nursing lie in working with infants. Before making the switch to nursing, I had the ability to shadow a neonatologist. I remember that day so clearly because I came into realization how much I wanted to work in the NICU. I felt such a strong connection working with the ill infants and seeing how the medical staff did everything in their power to make them better. Also, the stories I heard that day made me realize that the NICU has the ability to build strong connections with the patients and family members due to the long hospital admissions. Therefore, one of my career goals is to become a neonatal nurse practitioner.

Another career goal of mine is to work part time at the NIH and work on research projects pertinent to the NICU. I have been involved in research since I was 17 years old. The first research project that I was involved was at Nationwide Children’s Hospital working on looking at the metabolic shift of aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration in preeclampsia cells. At the age of 18, I became a published author on the research project. Even though I loved the research I was conducting in the lab, I was starting college and I decided to leave. The second research project that I was involved was with Dr. Mei Wei Chang on weight management of pregnant and postpartum women. During this project I learned how to interact and work with research subjects, whereas my work at NCH was more wet lab and coding. Now, I am working with Dr. Toni Harrison on infants’ feeding with congenital heart disease. I am very excited about working with this research project due to it lying within my interests.

That is a little bit about me! I am looking forward for this semester!

-Kathy