Soft Skills as a tool to improve quality of care

1. Soft Skills as a tool to improve Quality of Care
Prof Dr. Smriti Arora
Principal , College of Nursing AIIMS Rishikesh
Nov 13 2022

2. What is soft skill ?
• Non-technical skills that
describe how you work
and interact with others.
• Unlike hard skills, they're
not necessarily something
you'll learn in a course.
• Instead, they reflect your
communication style, work
ethic, and work style.

3. Quality of care depends on
• Technical Knowledge, skill of Health care personnel- nurse, doctor,
paramedics, housekeeping staff
And
• Soft skills

6. Soft skills
Empathy
• In health care, it's important that you can empathize with patients
and their situation
• An empathic approach is fundamental to the development of the
therapeutic relationship between nurse and patient
• A good empathetic capacity in nurses has been linked to greater
patient well-being and satisfaction, better patient compliance, and a
decrease in errors and complications, and better health outcomes
• Eye contact, active listening, support

7. Communication skills
Patients
• Active listening, Eye to eye contact
• Therapeutic touch
• Avoid technical jargon, explain in simple language, Feedback
• Respect their cultural beliefs
• allowing time for a response, questions, and clarification.
With team members- being respectful, minding tone, appreciating,
open and honest communication
When communication and delegation are ineffective, it can lead to
inaccurate information and, in turn, adverse outcomes.

8. • ‘No punishment only improvement’

9. Teamwork
• Decide the roles of all team members, delegate
responsibility, assign roles as per their strengths
• Involve everyone in decision making
• constructive criticism regarding their performance
• Use ‘WE’ instead of ‘I’
• Flat hierarchy

10. Strong Work ethics/Professionalism
• Punctuality
• Honesty and Integrity- refrain from
malpractices
• Commitment
• Respect - Body language, time wish
• Follow standards
• Appearance – professional- proper dress, hair,
footwear, hygienic

12. RMC
• 2017- MoHFW, LaQshya
• Respectful Maternity Care Charter, developed by the White
Ribbon Alliance and RMC partners
• is based on a framework of human rights and is a response to
the growing body of evidence documenting disrespect and
abuse of childbearing women.

13. Adaptability
• Don’t immediately say ‘No’ to any work
• Accept challenging roles
• Build up on your strengths
• Always be ready to learn something new
• Be curious, be proactive
• Be open to new ideas
• Emotional stability- regulate your emotions, self aware, learn to
respond effectively, no place of shouting

14. Time management
• 8-12 hours per day
• Plan your activities, Prepare daily, weekly timetables- duty schedules
• Be aware of deadlines, have notice boards in front of you, set
reminders for important work
• Classify your work according to priority- patient care, recording
reporting, research
• Take small breaks in between
• Delegate some tasks, Follow up
• Avoid wasting time habits- gossiping, social media during working
hours, continually talking on phone , avoid procrastination
• Stay active – follow healthy lifestyle: nutritious diet, exercise,
meditation

15. Soft skills ….
• Critical thinking – decision making ability after carefully analysing all
facts , correlating all facts/data.
• Collaboration with all other members of health team, involve
stakeholders- patients, caregivers, and staff
• Conflict resolution techniques – good negotiation skills
• Staying positive
• Keep yourself motivated
• Celebrate success

17. Summary
• Soft skills are directly related to patient satisfaction and safe care
• Taught by Role playing, simulated low risk settings
• to become well-rounded and effective professionals
• Patients want compassionate, competent care. Nurses should apply
any kind of soft skill that promotes an honest, considerate and
effective relationship with their patients.
• When nurses show confidence and reliability, patients might be
inclined to discuss their concerns and become proactive in their
treatment and recovery.
• increase the possibility of a successful outcome.

18. Thank You