Alternative Text Option: Client with Anxiety
Introduction
Welcome to the simulation learning experience. During this experience, you will be interacting with a scenario between a health care administrator (HCA) and a client. The experience is presented in the following format:
- Scenario description
- Video scenes
- Questions for points
- Prompt to move to the next level
- Opportunity to play again
Scenario Detail
Anxiety disorders impact the daily lives of approximately 11.6% of Canadians 18 years or older and 27% of people with anxiety disorders, report that their daily life has been highly impacted by their disorder, and 95% of those reported seeing a health care provider for assistance (Government of Canada, 2015).
In this experience, you will meet a client who suffers from anxiety and is coming to see their health care provider about a medication adjustment. The first person they encounter is the health care administrator (HCA).
Let’s see how it goes!
Learning Objectives
- Recognize the impact of poor therapeutic communication in health care settings.
- Identify the benefits of therapeutic communication techniques in health care settings.
- Adjust communication to meet the client’s health care needs in health care settings.
Please be advised that some viewers may find the following scenes upsetting or triggering.
Anxiety Scene 1
Congratulations you have reached level 1!
To reach level 2, choose your next move
Do you want to answer a question for 2 points?
Question: Consider the video you just watched. Do you think the health care administrator displays compassion to the client?
Answer 1: No, the health care administrator does not demonstrate compassion with the answer “nope”
Answer 2: Yes, the health care administrator is honest with the client when they state “nope”
Solution: Answer 1: No, the health care administrator does not demonstrate compassion with the answer “nope”. The answer “nope” dismisses the client’s concern about how long the wait will be and the quick request for the client’s demographic information focuses the communication back on the task and away from the client.
Watch the video again
Let’s see how much worse this can get?
Anxiety Scene 2
What did you notice about the client?
To earn more points, choose your next move
Answer a question for 3 points
Question: Does the HCA’s response reassure the client that their health care needs will be met?
Answer1: No, the HCA is still focused on tasks and misses that the client is feeling anxious.
Answer 2: Yes, the client’s records need to be updated to ensure compliance with medical record keeping.
Solution: Answer 1: No, the HCA is still focused on tasks and misses that the client is feeling anxious. This is correct because the client has already indicated that the reason, they want to see the doctor is about their anxiety. The HCA has not acknowledged the anxiety and by ignoring the client’s emotional need and focussing on tasks the client’s anxiety is exacerbated.
Identify the client’s nonverbal communication for 2 points?
Question: What did you notice about the client’s response to not receiving an answer to how long the wait will be?
Answer 1: The client seems fine as they answered the health care administrator’s question about work details
Answer 2: The client gives a sigh and seems mildly annoyed
Solution: Answer 2: The client gives a sigh and seems mildly annoyed. The sigh is the first indication that the client is not having their needs met.
Watch Scene 2 Again.
Will this get better, stay tuned!
Anxiety Scene 3
Congratulations you have made it to level 3!
To continue to level up and earn points choose from the following
Answer a question for 2 points
Question: Do you think the health care administrator should be aware of what is happening in the waiting area?
Answer 1: Yes
Answer 2: No
Solution: Answer 1, Yes, the health care administrator should be watching the waiting room and notice that this client was pacing, had sweaty palms, looked at watch, and quickly walks to the desk.
Watch Scene 3 N
How will the health care administrator answer the client’s question? Stay tuned!
Watch Scene 4N
Doesn’t look as if the client’s health care needs will be met. Let’s have a look at how this could be done differently.
Watch Scene 3 P
Things seem to be going better this time, let’s keep watching
Watch Scene 4 P
Reflection
Did you notice the HCA adjusted their communication in the last two scenes?
Why did the HCA adjust their communication?
How do you think the HCA knew that they needed to adjust their communication?
What was the immediate result you noticed in the client’s verbal and non-verbal communication?
What specific therapeutic communication techniques did the HCA use?
Summary
Therapeutic communication with clients is essential. Clients who experience anxiety are focused inward. HCA should continue to develop their therapeutic communication competencies by recognizing and adjusting their behaviours to meet the client’s health care needs.
Therapeutic communication is complex and requires a lifetime commitment of reflection, practice, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes
Game Over
Congratulations you have completed the game!
