Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Therapeutic basics
You are the resident's main link to the care team. Speak in plain language, use the resident's preferred name, introduce yourself, and explain what you are about to do before you touch anyone. Face the resident when speaking, keep your tone calm, and allow silence so the resident can gather thoughts.
Special situations
- Hearing loss: stand where the resident can see your face, reduce background noise, and speak clearly and slightly louder - never shout or over-articulate.
- Aphasia after a stroke: be patient, ask yes-or-no questions, use gestures and pictures, and never pretend you understood.
- Vision loss: announce your presence, describe what you are doing, and place objects where the resident expects them.
- Dementia: approach from the front, use short sentences with one direction at a time, redirect rather than argue, and do not correct the resident's reality - validate the feeling.
- Unconscious or dying resident: assume they can hear. Speak kindly, explain care, and include family.
Nontherapeutic responses to avoid
False reassurance ("you'll be fine"), giving advice, changing the subject, asking "why," and talking about your own problems. These are common wrong answer choices.
Reporting
Report changes using objective facts: what you saw, when, and what the resident said. "Mr. J. refused his bath and said his chest hurts" is a report; "Mr. J. is being difficult" is not. HIPAA applies - discuss residents only with the care team, never in hallways or elevators.
Rule of thumb
Listen more than you talk, and never promise something you cannot deliver.