Tips on how to cope with communication difficulties on placement

Learning Objectives

After considering this resource, you should be aware of the range of communication difficulties you might come across on placement and how these can be overcome.

During your time on placement and beyond, you are likely to come into contact with service users who may not be in a position to communicate in the traditional sense due to their own specific needs, or circumstances at a particular point in time. This does not mean they should be excluded from the process - it is your role to ensure the service user has the means by which to communicate effectively.

In the following video, students share their own experiences of communication difficulties they have faced on placement and how they overcame these.

Download: Video transcript

Reflective Questions

  1. Have you faced any of your own communication difficulties on placement? How did you overcome these?
  2. How can the right preparation before a meeting help you deal more effectively with communication difficulties that may arise?
  3. What different creative methods could you try to overcome communication difficulties?
  4. What measures can you use to ensure both you and the service user have understood what you have been discussing?
Preparation for practice