PROCESS RECORDING ACTIVITY

Observation of Setting Analysis and Recommendations

(Identify what facilitated the exchange, what were barriers, and
positive and negative aspects of the exchange)
The student had introduced herself and stated the purpose of Facilitators:
the interview to the patient the evening prior to this process • Introduced self the night before and stated purpose
recording. • Curtains drawn between beds
• Client relaxed and verbalized excitement about talking
This communication exchange took place at about 9 o’clock in with student
the morning. The patient, Mrs. M., was in a semi-private room • Turned TV off
in bed number one which is the bed closest to the door. As a • Room had personal touches
consequence, the room was quite noisy during the exchange
since there were other health care workers coming in and out Barriers:
of the room to attend to the other patient. The curtain was
• Semi-private room with roommate present
drawn between the beds to minimize the noise. Mrs. M.,
• Room entered by care providers for bed 2
however, requested that the door be left open in case someone
wanted to come in and visit. Mrs. M. appeared rather relaxed • Noisy and cramped space
and verbalized that she was excited to be able to talk with a • Door open—Mrs. M. looking for visitors could prevent
nursing student. The television was on when the student her full participation in interaction
entered the room but was turned off, with permission, before
the process recording began. The room itself was rather
cluttered and cramped making it difficult for the student to
maneuver in the room. Mrs. M. also had balloons, flowers, and
cards that added to the overall atmosphere of the room. Those
items made the hospital room look warmer and more
comfortable.
 Interviewer: (Student)
“Good morning Mrs. M. We’re
going to go ahead and start
the short interview that we
talked about yesterday, if
that’s okay with you.” (using
direct eye contact and a
friendly tone of voice)
Student pulls up a chair and
sits near the head of the bed
at patient’s eye level)
“Well, let’s go ahead and get
started. (using direct eye
contact).
“Why don’t you tell me how
you feel about going home
today?”
“Um-huh. (nodding head,
using good posture)
Student continues to nod
intermittently as well as saying
“um-huh” or “yes”
Interviewee: (Mrs. M.)
“Sure, come on in. You can
just go ahead and do anything
you want, honey.” (smiling)
“Well (Mrs. M. sighs) I have
mixed feelings you see
because I really would like to
get home so I can work on my
geneology records I’ve been
doing. But (pauses) I don’t
want to go home until I’m
completely better.
You see, I was in here before
and I got this disease from the
lady I was sharing the room with.
I just know I got it from sitting in
the same armchair as her. Then,
(sighs and frowns), when I got
home I was sick. I started
coughing and vomiting. I ended
up right back here again (puts
emphasis on again).
Identify Communication
Technique
Providing Information
Student positioned herself for
active listening (SOLER)
Asking relevant questions
Continued use of active
listening
Analysis of Interaction
(was technique effective, why
or why not? Was there
anything else that could have
been explored?)
Telling Mrs. M. what she was
doing would put her at ease
and make her feel safe and
secure.
• Enhances trust
• Facilitates communication
• Conveys interest and
involvement
• Eye contact conveys
sincerity, interest, and
professionalism
• To seek information
• To allow client to take the
lead in the conversation
and give pertinent
information
• Using positive non-verbal
messages lets client
know student is interested
• Use of paraphrasing or
clarifying may have been
helpful here
“So, you really aren’t sure you
want to go home yet.”
“Has your daughter been in to
visit you since you’ve been in
the hospital?”
“I see you’ve gotten balloons
and flowers all over there. But morning. He is doing pretty
no one has been in to visit?”
“I (um) Oh, I don’t know.
(puzzled tone of voice and
puzzled look on face) You
see my daughter, she lives in
Springfield, and takes care of
my husband who has
Alzheimer’s Disease. She
thinks that I ought to stay in
here for a while longer to be
sure I am better before I go
home. She takes care of my
husband in a home, you know,
so she knows a lot about
hospitals and stuff like that.
“Mary?” (Mrs. M. pauses)
No. But I have one son and
three daughters you know.
They’re spread out all across
the United States. My son just
got out of the hospital with
some prostate problems so he
couldn’t be here. He’s a
lawyer too so he’s very busy.
And then there are the twins
(chuckling). Well, they aren’t
really twins. They are 9 years
apart but they look just alike.”
“My son called me this
good. He just got discharged
yesterday. But my neighbor
came to see me yesterday.”
Reflecting and Focusing • Trying to keep
conversation focused
• May have needed to use
a close-ended question
here to zero in on only
one area.
• Trying to keep
conversation on track
• An effective way to get
more information but
Probing sometimes you get more
information than you need
• Focusing could have
been helpful here
• Would be interesting to
know what prompted this
question. If wanting to
know why daughter
wanted her to remain in
the hospital, a more direct
question may have
worked better.
• Conversation was
(Interpreting Information and becoming idle, needed to
attempting refocusing was intent ask something like “How
of the student) do you plan to manage
Changing the subject when you go home?” or
asking about the neighbor
could be used to focus
the conversation.
“Well good. It sounds like
you’ve been keeping pretty
busy in here, then.”
“Well my time is up. Thank
you for allowing me to talk
with you. (direct eye contact) I student. I hope I won’t have
hope all goes well for you at
home.”
“Oh yes. And I am so glad. It Summarizing • Used to let Mrs. M. know
is boring in here, you know.” the conversation was
near the end.
• Did not really summarize
“Oh you’re welcome honey. key points
Terminating interaction • Brought closure but was
(smiles) Always glad to help a
somewhat abrupt
to come back here for a long
time.”

EVALUATION
(What is your overall impression of this communication exchange? Was the goal of the interview achieved? Were there any recurring
themes in the exchange? What were the interviewers strengths or weaknesses? What was the social value of this exchange?)
This process recording conveyed that the student was comfortable talking with Mrs. M. It did convey some difficulty staying
focused on the particular issue of concern. Mrs. M. shared a lot of information that was not really relevant to what the student
wanted to know. Being comfortable and proficient with the use of paraphrasing, clarifying, and focusing may have helped the
student gather the pertinent data needed with the client getting off the subject. Active and attentive listening can give cues to
what is really important to a client. In this interaction the client’s family was very important to her.
All in all the interaction was therapeutic, although the primary objective of finding out how she felt about going home was never
really met. Follow-up questions were needed to guide the conversation back to that focus and get the information that was
sought. The social interaction would have been beneficial to the client regardless of whether the main objective was realized or
not.

My goals for further communication growth would be:

1. Learn to use additional techniques such as paraphrasing, clarifying, and focusing redirect conversation so I can achieve
the intended information.
2. Learn to use a variety of techniques naturally without having to think about them.