The Patient behind the Room Number As nurses, it goes without saying you are a caring person, and you especially care very much for your patients. As much as nurses care for the people they work with, it can sometimes be routine. Admitting a new patient is something that nurses do often, and it is a very routine procedure for you. Now, consider the patient. Of course, they may be a regular visitor of hospitals, but they may also be a first-time patient. They may be terrified, and these routine questions for you, may be very intimidating for the patient. Sometimes, understandably, patients get nervous when hospital staff discusses a living will. This is a typical question asked of every patient, however if a patient had never been hospitalized, they may suddenly assumea procedure is going to be his or her demise. Seeing the Patient as a Person For guards that go to work in prisons, they go through a rigorous training on how to de-personalize the people they are caring for. Nursing is somewhat the opposite; we need to see the person behind the illness or injury. There are boundary guidelines, however recognizing the patient as a person, and taking note of how they appear, are they scared, nervous, upset? If any of these emotions are present, take a step back from nursing for a moment and offer a little comfort and reassurance. You can always renew the nurse role when the questions are medically related, but possibly for a moment that patient needs a sympathetic ear. Remember that behind that patient is a person, a mom, a dad, a brother, or sister, always remember they probably have a number of people that love them and will be very thankful if you can offer their loved one’s comfort. Related: How to Become the Most Efficient Nursing Student Understanding the Patients Needs Nurses are trained to spot physical needs quickly. If your patient is having difficulty breathing, or has a fever, it’s easy to see and treat. If the patient has concerns, fears, or questions, they may be unsure about asking, or sharing them. Many people feel they will look unintelligent asking questions, so they keep quiet, and their fear gets the best of them. When working with your patient, look at them and consider looking at them from a mental standpoint as well as a physical view. Does the patient look nervous, or as if they have questions but are not asking them? After assuring they are physically ok, converse with them. Telling a patient that you know what they are facing is frightening, but that they are in good
hands can sometimes open up the lines of communication, and they will share their concerns. A simple procedure may be very terrifying to a patient; you can probably bring a smile to their face with a very popular saying- “even a minor surgery is serious if it’s happening to me”. Said by a famous physician. When communicating with our coworkers, we all say room number (222) wants help to the restroom. That is normal hospital talk, and perfectly acceptable, especially with HIPAA laws in place, patient names should not be shared out in the general areas. However, when you are with the patient, if you need to call for something, saying, my patient in room 222 is more personal, and less likely to make the patient feel like a number and not a person. Related: What does a Nurse Practitioner do? In today’s world of moderntechnology, we are all linked to numbers, and that is the way of the world. However, imagine going to your personal doctor and having the doctor or nurse walk in and say hello 24453, how are you? You’d probably change doctors that would be a bit too impersonal. For many patients in a hospital setting, that is exactly how they feel, providing insurance numbers, contact numbers and so on. Anytime you meet a new patient, be sure to see the person behind the patient, you can learn a lot about someone. Related: Registered Nurse Marie Lois Haran, RN, MSN, will be Honorably Mentioned in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter