DANIELLE ROSENFELD-LOVELL
TRANSPOSING CONSUMER PARTNERSHIP FROM THE BEDSIDE TO THE CLIENT MEETING by Danielle Rosenfeld-Lovell, Consultant Security Testing and Assurance at CyberCX Long before the idea of a career in information
So, I would like to share a few lessons learnt from
security or technology occurred to me, I trained to
the bedside that I think could be usefully adapted to
be a nurse. I knew that the better informed I was, the
consulting with stakeholders, especially our clients.
safer and more effective would be the standard of care I could provide. So I took to intensely studying anatomy, pathophysiology and pharmacology.
LESSON 1: THE FINE AND FINICKY ART OF ESTABLISHING RAPPORT QUICKLY Very early in my nursing career I realised spending
I thought my understanding of diagnoses and of how
a little time at the beginning of each shift getting to
various drugs should be used for best effect would
know my patients and their family could contribute
be the most valuable things I could offer. So, when I
substantially to making the shift go more smoothly.
began to practice, it came as something of a surprise
Committing time to creating a meaningful relationship
to me that much of my time at work was consumed
with patients (or consumers) can be challenging
by learning the context of the patient and their family.
when you have a backlog of tasks to plough through. Nonetheless, I found it took very little time to ask a
I started to routinely grapple with questions such
couple of questions about things I could observe in the
as “What sort of social support does the patient
room when I first introduced myself, like a favourite
have?” “Will my patient reasonably be able to commit
toy or a book a patient or family member was reading.
to the treatment we are suggesting when they go
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home?” and “Am I speaking using words that my
Depending on the situation, I might ask whether
patient understands?” Increasingly, these questions
anything notable had happened that day (people
became less speculation and more an essential part
find amazing ways to manage the boredom of being
of the job if I wanted to deliver effective healthcare.
in hospital!) Whatever topic I chose, demonstrating
Consideration of people’s preferences, needs,
genuine curiosity and buy-in, even if I had only a
culture and the context of their lives underpins the
few minutes, could go a long way to establishing
philosophy of patient/family-centred care in nursing.
good rapport.
W O M E N I N S E C U R I T Y M A G A Z I N E
S E P T E M B E R • O C T O B E R 2022
