I decided I would use this assignment as an opportunity to watch a Grey’s Anatomy episode. Throughout the episode I noticed some of the different forms of communication techniques used and observed relationships between healthcare providers and other colleagues and patients. I also looked for areas of boundary crossings and potential barriers to communication. In general, the physicians demonstrate the correct use of verbal communication fairly well. They refer to the patient by their desired name, are concise and make sure to involve the patient in the conversation. However, because this is a drama, their use of non verbal communication is sometimes not always therapeutic. I noticed that some of the physicians would come to work looking disheveled, like they haven’t slept or showered in days. Some non therapeutic gestures I noticed while physicians were in the patient’s room were an irritated sounding tone of voice, facial expressions, eye rolls, avoiding eye contact with the patient when talking to them and poor body language. If the patient was able to pick up on these unfavorable non verbal cues, this could negatively impact their desire to have this physician work with them. They might feel like a burden and begin to not trust the provider. Again, because this is a television show, humor was used to entertain the viewers. Humor invites interaction between the physician and the patient and allows the patient to feel more at ease and cope with stress or fear. The physicians did a great job at expressing empathy towards their patients. They were able to listen to the patient, put themselves in their position and provide constructive feedback. Empathy is extremely important to use and be aware of when providing care for a patient, as it makes the patient feel like they can trust you. As for team communication, hand off reports were completed face to face and were detailed so the next provider knew the patient’s current status, background and any new or pending labs. Mid shift reports were much less detailed; they were more or less a quick synopsis on what has recently been going on with the patient and anything specific to look out for or monitor. Throughout the episode, there were some communication barriers. There were a couple of times where there were distractions and a lack of coordination, follow ups, time and role clarity. Distractions came from the physicians life outside of work such as marriage, friends or family stress. Distractions could potentially be very harmful to the patient, as the physicians mind is not solely on the patient. However, in this episode the physicians did an excellent job at not letting outside distractions interfere with the care they provided. Creating the feeling of a lack of coordination and time is done mainly for the drama, so the viewer stays intrigued in the show. If everything was perfectly going to plan and without chaos, the show would be boring and no one would watch. I was quite impressed with how Grey’s Anatomy, although not realistic in the slightest, was able to display many aspects of good and bad communication.