choice,  offering  our  support  for  whatever  their needs  or  desires  may  be. SEX An  individual  is  born  either  male  or  female and  learns  roles  and  responses  associated  with their  gender  through  parental  models,  family  rela- tionships, and his or her specific society. As one enters into the world of providing health care serv- ices, it is necessary to learn and adopt new roles and  responses  regarding  gender  identification.  As the number of females entering the military serv- ice increases, health care providers are increasingly being  challenged  to  expand  their  functions  in  rela- tion to caring for patients of the opposite sex. The health  care  provider  who  has  developed  sound moral  principles  and  consciously  strives  to  pro- vide a service based on a firm ethical foundation has little to fear when providing care for an in- dividual of either sex. However, the development of  such  a  foundation  requires  diligent  study,  a commitment  to  growth,  and  an  availability  of  pro- fessionally guided experiences. Throughout your career  as  a  member  of  the  Hospital  Corps,  you will  be  given  opportunities  and  guidance  to achieve  a  sound  ethical  background.  Your  only responsibility toward this growth is a desire and commitment  to  make  yourself  available  and  re- spond  as  a  real  professional. Because   of   the   increasing   frequency   with which hospital corpsmen are required to attend to persons of either sex, the following guidelines are  presented  to  assist  you  in  developing  some decision-making   judgments. To  ensure  the  protection  of  health  care  per- sonnel  from  unjustified  accusations,  a  witness should be present when a member of the opposite sex  is  being  examined  or  treated.  Whether  this witness is a member of the same sex as the patient may be dictated by the availability of personnel. When you are caring for a patient, sensitivity to both   verbal   and   nonverbal   communication   is paramount. A grin, a frown, or an expression of surprise  may  all  be  misinterpreted  by  the  patient. Explanations  and  reassurances  will  go  far  in preventing  misunderstandings  of  actions  or  inten- tions.  Knowledge,  empathy,  and  mature  judgment should guide the care provided to any patient; this is  especially  crucial  when  the  care  involves touching. As a member of the health care team, you  are  responsible  for  providing  complete, quality care to all who need and seek your serv- ice.  This  care  must  be  provided  in  a  manner 5-4 compatible  with  your  individual  legal  and technical  limitations. COMMUNICATION  SKILLS Communication is a highly complicated inter- personal process of people relating to each other through conversation, writing, gestures, appear- ance, behavior, and at times, even silence. Such interpersonal   relating   not   only   occurs   among health  care  providers  and  patients  but  also  be- tween health care providers and support person- nel.  Some  of  these  support  personnel  include housekeeping,  maintenance,  security,  supply,  and food  service  staff.  Another  critical  communica- tion  interaction  occurs  among  health  care  pro- viders and visitors. Because of the critical nature of  communication  in  health  care  delivery,  it  is  im- portant that the hospital corpsman understand the communication process and the techniques used to  promote  open,  honest,  and  effective  interac- tions. It is only through effective communication that the health care provider is able to identify the goals of the individual and the Navy health care system. The  human  communication  process  consists of  four  basic  parts:  the  sender  of  the  message,  the message, the receiver of the message, and the feed- back. The sender of the message starts the process. The  receiver  is  that  individual  intended  to receive the message. The message is that body of information the sender wishes to transmit to the receiver.  Feedback  is  the  response  given  by  the receiver to the message. It can be a way of validat- ing  that  effective  communication  has  taken  place. There are two basic modes of communication; verbal  and  nonverbal.  Verbal  communication  is that which is spoken or written. A characteristic that distinguishes the verbal from the nonverbal is that verbal communication involves the use of words.  Nonverbal  communication,  on  the  other hand, does not involve the use of words. Dress, gestures, touching, body language, face and eye behavior,  and  even  silence  are  forms  of  non- verbal communication. It should be remembered that  even  though  there  are  two  forms  of  com- munication,  both  the  verbal  and  nonverbal  are