Essay on Interviewing Health Care Professionals: Putting Learning Into Practice

On gaining knowledge on how to develop open-ended questions and the communication skills used in the delivery of the questions, it was time to put the learning into practice. This being the task, health care professionals got interviewed. My team of interviewees able to spare a minute was a group consisting of three health care professionals. The company chosen was a large well-known company. The team consisted of a charge nurse, a monitor technician, and a lab technician. The organization is a non-profit organization that in charge of hospital facilities in its surrounding and a hospital system. From its outlook, the staff is from different demographic background, but they work together towards achieving the company's goal. As of now, they have a total of twenty thousand nine hundred and fourteen efficient employees. They have thirteen acute care facilities, two colleges, one hundred and eight physician office practices, and six home health agencies.

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For this specific interview, I decided to ask some questions to learn more about the organization's culture. These questions include; how would they describe the company's culture, how did the organization come up to where it is right now, and what the organization stood for. Other questions included; what were the main rules one had to follow once they were employed and how the company tends to utilize a person's ideas and past experiences to better itself (Peters, & Halcomb, 2015). Despite focussing on the good the organization tends to bring to society, I was keen to ask about the one thing they thought the organization did not do well in as at then.

From my point of view, the interview made me aware of the company's culture in-depth. The interviewees appeared honest and willing to share information about their organization. The meeting lasted up to forty minutes with minimal distractions. With every question, the interviewees gave a well-expanded answer with adequate information to provide me with a clear picture. In the case where one of their colleagues gave inadequate information, another would jump in and add some information. They were patient enough not to cut short anyone when they were speaking. Before answering any question, they thought it through and answered from their exact point of view. I appreciated the transparency.

Below I will dive into some of the questions asked and the responses given on the same. When asked to describe the organizations' culture, they said the group of diverse people appreciate a positive work environment. This work environment included competent and cooperative care. It also got termed as a supportive work environment. Also, they went ahead to inform me that the organization cared enough to have flexible scheduling. This played a significant role in balancing the nurses' work-life such that they are all rounded individuals. The shared values upheld by the institution were teamwork, justice integrity, and compassion.

I also inquired about what the company stood for. The information was that their mission was to serve every individual with the greatest love and care in a community. It got put to my attention that they formulated this mission as a result of observing the community around them. The population got described as one that celebrates the gift of life each day. They said that each staff member was passionate about serving; thus, they did everything in their power to maintain a good rapport with the community and between themselves.

On the question of how the company came to where it was right now, they delivered a beautiful and exciting history (Kurtz, Draper, & Silverman, 2017). The company was first a thought in the mind of people from a collective religious group. The founders then decided to actualize their idea. With every failure and every lesson learned, they grew bigger and better. With every new employee, they sort to improve each other for the benefit of the organization and the community. Every resource accumulated over the years got put into the development of the organization. Love and teamwork gave them an edge over their competitors. The lively nature of the individuals working there keeps the patients coming back.

Moreover, their principle that no one coming in got denied care kept more and more patients flooding in. They said that the company also listened to their ideas and implemented the viable ones. "It feels good to get a chance to add value," one said.

There were a couple of rules that got mentioned that one had to follow if the organization was employing them. I will get to dwell on the main rules. They included; every member of staff should not disclose any information that pertains to the business of the organization. Also, when carrying out any official business, they should maintain a professional outlook and do nothing to embarrass the organization (Adler, Rodman, & Du Pre, 2016). They should also not take part in political events that directly violates the company's tax-exempt status. The staff should also not accept fees for service from boards, and most importantly, no foundation employee can grant employment to their immediate family. They stated that these policies were not harsh, and no one sort to work around them.

Besides, they assured me that their ideas are listened to and put to practice as long as they are viable. They tend to have a regular weekly meeting to discuss the way forward for dealing with different health problems in their patients. In these meetings, each one is allowed to give their criticism to their colleagues openly, and they tend to receive it positively. With every different session came a positive change. This improved the health of its patients and the functioning of the organization as a whole.

Before going to the last questions, I asked them to describe what they thought they were currently succeeding. They were very sure about certain aspects. Their main areas of excellence as of now were the cancer center, hospice, cardiovascular, children treatment, internal innovation, and neurosciences. The organization offers excellent benefits, such as health benefits. Their tuition fees are getting reimbursed for the staff that considers taking classes while working, they get paid leave, considerable working hours, and flexibility to work from home. These conditions will suit the team. This makes the efficiency level of the hospital to be at peak at most times of the year.

With this last question, honesty was at its peak. I asked what they thought they were not yet doing well. One replied to the incorporation of new forms of technology. When I look at it from their point of view, however, it seemed more of a positive deed rather than a negative one. They argued that inputting more technology may keep some staff off a job. Also, inputting a high level of technology that the stuff isn't well versatile with may lead to deterioration of the health status of their patients rather than making it better. Before any new technology is adopted, every related member of staff gets to learn it. The technology is scrutinized against all risks to determine if it is viable and its benefits to the organization. This delays the process indefinitely. It may seem to occur as if the organization is delaying the inevitable, but this is not the case.

What I learned about the culture of the organization from this interview is they developed a culture of sound mind. One may get employed with the aim of working just plainly having a job that helps them provide for their basic needs, but the culture helps one want to keep going back to work. Essential values define the culture, and the fact that it serves each one regardless of where they come from is an outstanding outlook of the company.

With practicality, one tends to learn a lot more. With this interview, I learned various lessons on communication techniques. First, maintaining eye contact with the speaker enabled me to pay maximum attention, especially since I am prone to drift after the first few minutes of listening. Secondly, the art of speaking one at a time gor embraced. This enabled me to listen keenly to what other people were saying. I realized talking over other people is a distraction and that one may not get to have a proper flow of conversation.

My non-verbal cues were intentional. These non-verbal communication actions included nodding my head or smiling to display acceptance and understanding of the given point, uncrossing my arms, and not leaning back at my chair. These gave the speaker the notion that I was listening to them and motivated them to continue answering the questions. They get often considered as a tool for feedback. As I asked questions, it was only natural that I mostly addressed it to the person that displayed non- verbal cues that informed me that they were listening.

Another one is the art of asking open-ended questions. These are questions that prompt the person replying to answer with words that are more than a yes or a no. This was the dominant characteristic of my items. The interviewees got prompted to tell me more about the organization without me needing to ask another question in between. They felt no need to hide or filter some words. They were also honest and open. From the word go, I was honest about my intentions of carrying out the interview. With this, they did not feel obligated to tell me anything, but they were at ease to share with me any form of information.

Besides, the clarity techniques were applied efficiently. I made my questions clear enough that they understood what information I was seeking to obtain from the subject. When repaying, they understood what I was asking for; hence they gave their clear response to the issue at hand. This made communication very easy and eliminated boredom. While delivering the information provided about the organization's culture, after the interview, I can do it without the need to guess because nothing was left to chance. Maintaining clarity is an excellent tool to learn because it does away with miscommunications and misunderstandings both in the workplace and also in life itself.

Moreover, from observing the interviewees, I noticed that they were aware of their impact on the group. Thy thought about what they were offering the group. Everyone made a point to share their ideas and contribute to group discussions. They were aware enough to give others time and space to air out their views, or do you tend to dominate the conversation. No one managed to rule over a chat. They seemed to time to reflect on how they were they were going to bring out their points. They also listened to each other such that they did not end up repeating what the other person had initially said. This assured me that they were invested in the conversation and did not drift away with the notion that the interview was boring.

Conclusion

In conclusion, overall, this was an incredibly eye-opening experience. It was evident how culture can influence broadly how an organization functions. In a society where most find work as challenging day to day duty, some can love what they do passionately. This culture also prioritizes the care of their patients over everything else. With a full understanding of their staff life cycle, they have provided them a way to balance their social life with their work life.

Moreover, I got to learn that partaking in interviews helps one improve their communication techniques. These techniques include turn-taking, maintaining eye contact, taking notes, relevant non-verbal cues, and being aware of one's impact in a conversation. Others included speaking with clarity and asking open-ended questions.

References

Adler, R. B., Rodman, G. R., & Du Pre, A. (2016). Understanding human communication (Vol. 10). Oxford University Press.

Kurtz, S.,...