How to Care For Patients Effectively
When it comes to healthcare, nurses spend more time with the patient, which makes it important for them to nurture a positive nurse – patient relationship. This will enhance their overall experience and might even help with their recovery.
So as a nurse, make sure that you read on the following tips so you’ll have an idea how you can effectively build rapport with your patients.
1. Get to know your patients
Like all other relationships, it’s important to know the other person. When it comes to your patient, you may want to know more than their disease or medications, so you’ll have something to talk about. It may be about hobbies, their interests, or even their children. This will help break down any inhibitions and make your patients feel comfortable and less anxious.
2. Educate
Patients trust their physicians and nurses, knowing they are their best educators for whatever they are going through. Anyone who’s undergoing medications, treatment options, and possible consequences, have all the rights to know every little detail about their disease. But when it comes to educating your patients, take into consideration factors such as their auditory or visual limitations, and language barriers, if there’s any.
It’s best to offer them available reading materials related to their disease, or with website links which they can check out. If the hospital or clinic you’re working in have video resources, offer it as well and clarify their questions.
3. Know their needs and anticipate them
It doesn’t matter whether it’s primary care or acute care setting. You can make a big difference in patient care if you learn how to anticipate the needs of your patients so you can make them feel that you care and you’ll do everything to provide the best care that they deserve.
4. Follow through is just as important
Credibility is just one of the aspects you need when building a career. As a nurse, make sure that you follow through with everything you say you’re going to do. Regardless of how little the task is, such as promising a patient that you’re going to give a list of recommended diet for his or her health, do it. This will only show that they can trust you and you can give them the care that they need.
5. Address them with their name
Yes, memorizing names can be a challenge, but a patient will feel more special and cared for if you exert enough effort to remember his or her name. It may look like a little act, but it can go a long way and make your patient feel comfortable around you.
The level of your knowledge isn’t the sole basis of becoming a great nurse. You may be one of the most qualified out there, but not having a positive relationship and harmony with your patients will get you nowhere.
Published at: 02/18/2015
