Treating your patient with respect should be a no-brainer! But sadly it is something that many in the medical field seem to shelf. So learn it now and hold on to it throughout your nursing journey! Learn that your patient is defined by more then his room number, more then his Primary Diagnosis and more then his less than desirable behaviors. You are treating a real living breathing person, who has a past and future that encompasses more then the snapshot we get to be invited into. So always treat a person from all angles: Mental, Physical and Spiritual.
My biggest pet peeve to this day, after so many years of nursing, is hearing nurses refer to a patient by their room number.
The irritation is serious my friends!
I know it may seem minor, you have witnessed it a thousand times during clinical rotations, and you yourself have probably already done it. But, here’s the thing . . . it’s wrong! Put the shoe on the other foot and see how it would feel to be called the “guy in 101 -A Bed that has COPD and anxiety at night”. Does that make you feel good? Does it make you feel like you’re being cared for? Or does it sound more like your just the next room on a long groceries list of patients for that shift? Nobody should ever feel that way . . . actually let’s rephrases that . . you should not make anyone feel that way.
So let’s make the decision right now to start treating all our patients with respect. Let’s make a decision to learn one thing about that patient, something that makes them tick, something that they like or dislike, details about their family, about their life outside of their current sickness, with every interaction you have.
Now I also see the eye rolling and the words “unrealistic” flashing in your head!
But that’s false! I have been doing this little trick for the past eight years and before I even realized it I usually gathered more information about the patients then I even realized!
As I had mentioned before I worked in a Palliative Care setting for many years, and with that came little time to actually grasp who your patient was outside of their illness before they slipped away. But I truly believe in knowing each of my patients. I believe that it helps provide better care and create a more trusting bond between the patient and staff.
Try entering their world, instead of forcing them into our medical world.
So, I started by asking one personal detail question each time I entered a patients room. And you would be surprised how quickly it added up! On average it was a three minute conversation but helped me gain more insight into the person I was caring for. See, it doesn’t mean you have to pull up a chair, have a long life pondering conversation, and throw your entire shift off course. It means that while you’re already in the room doing a task you have to complete anyway, you also ask a simple question . . . BOOM! It’s very simple. But, it’s something so many choose not to do. And I purposely use the word “choose” because it is a choice that you are making to not get to know your patients, and I guess my question would be, WHY?
While your still young in your career make this a habit. Find a rhythm that works best for you. Not only will your patients notice and sing your praises but other nurses may start to jump on your bandwagon too! And if there is ever a chance to be a leader in patient care never shy away! As your nursing career develops and you head down the road this small behavior will go with you, and it will teach you how to compassionately care for your patients, while offering them the respect enough to choose to care about them.
Choose to stand out, choose to care, choose to be a nurse.