Reference no: EM133169706

Provide recommendations for improvement based upon a different communication human behavior theory than your peer describes.

In our book, communication is defined as "Transfer of information and understanding from one person to another" (Newstrom, 2015). I believe that communication is crucial in the workplace. The way people perceive your message can be either effective or ineffective. I work in a laboratory, and all departments need to communicate effectively to provide excellent patient care. I can recall one ineffective situation frequently with my department (the Blood Bank) and the Operating Room. The blood bank is responsible for setting up blood components for patients having surgery. We set up four red cells, four plasmas, and one platelet for open-heart surgery. Usually, someone from the OR would call us and ask if the blood was ready; if our answer was yes, then they would send someone to pick up the units. On this particular day, a nurse called us, then 10 minutes later, the runner called us, then 10 minutes later the secretary called us looking for the blood.

They failed to communicate within themselves, and they also delayed patient care by not picking up the blood from the initial call (30 mins prior). In this case, they activated the Massive Transfusion Protocol, resulting in the patient receiving uncross-matched units. Newstrom talks about having an organizational behavior system, which I believe my current employer has in place. But it's up to the people to take the time to listen to one another. In my case, one department to another.

An effective way that my department communicates with current and all future employees is by having written policies and procedures that employees can read at any time. Our Policies and Procedures inform employees how to run a test step by step. Every morning we have recorded morning rounds that are saved into the shared drive; that way, employees can go back and re-listen to it if needed.