Great post Jeannie, I agree with you that fidelity and veracity go together; they are both the keys foundation for nurse-patient relationship (Chiduku, 2016). I think it is hard to keep our promises sometimes because of a large workload with 6 patients and paperwork during daytime. Autonomy is also an important principle. I have seen so many patients refused their treatment even though they are benefited from it. As nurses, we always want to do the best and save patients’ lives. Sometimes, this principle puts us in a position that we have to respect the patients’ right and ignore our judgments.
References
Chiduku, A. (2016). Ethics in nursing. Nursing Update, 41(6), 56-57.
Excellent post Sharena, I enjoy reading your personal experiences,
A patient is vulnerable when a nurse bathes their bare body for a bed bath. After a patient receives the news of cancer, a nurse is there to comfort the patient. When a family sits in the hospital room waiting for their child to wake up from a coma, a nurse is a shoulder to cry on. A nurse should show compassion and care to each patient. When a nurse shows care and compassion, the patient and nurse bond grows stronger. As the bond grows stronger, the impact on the patient will increase. The role of a nurse is to take care of the sick and show compassion. With compassion, a nurse will grow the relationship between the patient and the nurse. The value of integrity means to be honest and do the right thing the reliable way. One of the most important aspects of being a nurse is honesty. If a nurse makes a mistake while giving medication, the mistake should be reported immediately. If the incident is not reported, a patient’s life could be at risk. What if the dosage is too high? What if the wrong medication is given to the wrong patient? What if the patient is highly allergic to the incorrect medication? If a nurse does not own up to the mistake, the patient’s life could be at danger. A nurse should inform the doctor or physician of the mistake made. Honesty can save a life. If a patient asks the nurse what time she will come back, the nurse should come back within that time frame. If the nurse does not return in
Integrity is crucial to the nursing profession because it creates trust with others. This sense of trust facilitates open communication with patients and colleagues (Ridge, 2015). For proper communication to occur between a nurse and patient, honesty and sincerity are required. Good communication improves the quality of care provided to patients. Integrity driven nurses, possess a strong sense of themselves and act in ways of doing what is right consistently. Consequently, healthcare focuses on holistic care, meaning all aspects of a patient’s life must be considered, and the only way this
As a nurse, communication is an essential and important factor to building a therapeutic relationship between a nurse and patient as it is the difference between average and excellent nursing care, as it helps maintain a good quality of life and allows nurses’ and patients to interact and provide comfort when needed. The importance of good communication can become apparent with patients especially when they are in the hospital, as it helps the nurses build a positive relationship with patients and helps overcome barriers including physical, psychological and social. A therapeutic relationship is built on many factors which include both verbal and non-verbal communication which helps maintains the relationship and strengthens it due to the positive impact it has not only on the patient’s experience but also the nurse’s.
Series of interaction amongst nurse-patient and researcher-participant stresses the importance of relationship in an interpersonal process. The nurse-patient and researcher-participant are characterized by their own professional relationship including their own unique features in accomplishing goals. In this paper, I will examine their differences and similarities within the context of interrelationship.
The nursing profession is a very intricate and comprehensive vocation that brings forth many situations that every nurse ought to be prepared to resolve ethically. These situations may be easily settled or may be quite complex. There are four main principles of health care ethics that are pertinent within the management of each client to assist with circumstances brought forth by each individual. The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines a difference between the meaning of client and patient. A client is one who takes advice from a practitioner whereas a patient is one who is “undergoing medical treatment” (American Nurses Association, 2015). It is the obligation of the medical professional to ensure each client receives a) respect for autonomy, b) nonmaleficence, c) beneficence and d) justice. These four principles, although listed, are not in any particular order and one does not take precedence over the other. Every client has a basic human right to assume these principles upon each meeting with a health care professional as a prima facie duty of the practitioner.
Ethical principles are a crucial component of nursing care as they reflect a commitment to take the best decisions for the patient's recovery and wellbeing. Some of these aspects are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and fidelity, as well as the principles established by the ANA's code of ethics of advocacy, responsibility, accountability, and confidentiality (Potter, Perry & Stockert, 2016). In this sense, nurses are required to act by following and meeting the expectations of these behavioral standards. For example, it is important to inform the client about every risk and benefit that could be obtained from nursing interventions, and is the nurse's responsibility to make sure they understand before consenting. The nurse must
In a true therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, establishing trust is a key factor to promote quality and compassionate care. This trust can be easily jeopardized by a breach in confidentiality of the patient’s personal health information. This paper will focus on the importance of confidentiality as it relates to nursing and patient information and the vulnerabilities that can attribute to breaches of that information. Whether verbal, electronic, or written documentation, confidentiality must encompass all information obtained about a patient and exist only on a need to know basis among those healthcare professionals involved in that patient’s care. In today’s age of information technology and the use of electronic medical records, a patient’s personal health information may be vulnerable to inappropriate misuse. When confidentiality is broken then the ever important nurse-patient relationship is broken. The ethical dilemmas and legal issues that accompany confidentiality breaches can result in large fines and lawsuits against healthcare facilities and also end nursing careers. It is the patient’s right to have his or her personal medical information protected at all times and the nurse must understand the responsibility to protect that right is an important factor in maintaining the nurse-patient relationship.
There are many different aspects to being a ‘good nurse’, but there are six core principles of nursing which have emerged through progression of the nursing profession, (DoH 2012). The core principles were brought in as a result of issues raised within the National Health Service (NHS) and have been identified as caring and compassion; dignity; communication; professionalism; emotional intelligence and the nurse-patient relationship. The three principles I have chosen to analyse are communication, dignity and nurse-patient relationship because it is my belief that when a nurse lacks awareness of these, they will also lack the ability to be a successful nurse. From my own research and experience, these three principles are
Communication- It’s a topic every individual is familiar with but not everyone fully understands. To be a successful communicator you need to be certain what the message is you are trying to convey, who is the receiver, and who is the sender (Anderson, L.). Many individuals fail at successful and proper communication due to the fact they do not take other individuals culture, knowledge, or background into consideration. Successful communication is not about seeing how fast you can relay the information and move on. Successful communications involves answering questions, being honest, showing your active listening, and even providing support. With that being said, the concept this paper is going to cover is how good communication is going to help an individual become the best nurse he/she can be.
Building trust with your patient is essential to providing quality care. According to Michael Brennan and Verna Monson (2014), there are several attributes that can help build that trust with a patient through professionalism such as “altruism, excellence, skillfulness, dutifulness, and accountability” (p. 644). In other words, this ultimately means taking responsibility, being knowledgeable and assertive in your work, and being selfless while doing a good job. These attributes and behaviors show the patient that you truly know what you are doing and that they can trust in your abilities as a nurse. With this
The goal to improve nurse-patient interactions with patients suffering from mental illness can be satisfied by a preceptor program that is used to train new hires by educating them on the history of mental health, training them on how to better understand mental health patients through communication, how to identify and control erratic patients, and they will be taught special skills on how to communicate effectively to best serve and treat different types of mental illness through interaction. In developing a preceptor program, the goal is to fix any and all problems to address the concerns of new hire nurses and to educate new hire nurses on how to adapt and control mental health patients in the work environment. It is also created to foster
Ida Orlando created the theory, The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Relationship, which focuses on using one’s perception of a patient’s behavior to clarify the appropriate nursing action to resolve the patient’s need of discomfort. Her education first began with receiving a nursing diploma, climbing her way to a master’s degree, and then working as an associate professor for eight years, where she conducted a study that lead her to purposing The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Theory. With her education and vast knowledge in the nursing field of mental health, to maternity, to medicine, to the emergency department, Ida purposed The Dynamic Nurse-Patient Relationship theory to help those who are nonverbal or unsure of what the discomfort is.
I enjoyed reading your post and agree with your comments about the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship. A trusting nurse-patient relationship is essential in nursing. Therefore, nurses should always seek to build a trusting relationship with the patient in order to improve care and have positive outcomes. Nurses should also have the ability to treat patients with dignity, respect, and compassion regardless of their personal situation or background. Patients are supposed to feel safe in the hands of nurses due to their nursing roles. They provide direct care and spend the most time with the patient. In addition, they are committed to the patient well-being and
The literature identifies the importance of the therapeutic relationship as a foundational aspect of nursing from which the other skills should be build upon and emphasizes how valuable this relationship is for all of the parties involved as it relates to outcomes and personal growth (Welch, 2005 and Chambers, 2005). Chambers (2005) describes the therapeutic relationship that the nurse facilitates as a foundational aspect of nursing from which the other skills should be build upon. Welch (2005) focuses on the impact of the therapeutic relationship specifically in mental-health nursing, however, acknowledges the importance of the relationship as it relates to all areas of nursing. Welch (2005) continues by stating that the patient is often
A therapeutic relationship in nursing, is a relationship that is formed between the nurse and patient. The relationship is based on interaction, respect, care, gratitude, empathy, hope, advocacy, compassion, etc. Having therapeutic communication skills is beneficial when it comes to forming a nurse-patient relationship. Potter and Perry (2017) note, “Therapeutic communication skills enable you to perceive and respect the older adult’s uniqueness and health care expectations” (p. 189). By forming this relationship, trust will be formed between the nurse and patient, making appointments and nursing care run much smoother. Ensuring that a patient trusts their nurse, is a very important key point in the function of nursing care. This concept has been an essential element since the beginning of nursing and care. As mentioned in the book, Understanding the Work of Nurse Theorists, Hildegard Peplau, a nurse theorist, outlines specifics about therapeutic relationships: “[There are] multiple roles that the nurse may fulfill within a nurse-patient relationship. These roles are best managed if the nurse actively observes and appraises self, patient, and the quality of relations on an ongoing basis” (Sitzman, K., & Eichelberger, L., 2017, p. 138). Peplau continues by naming a few roles that the nurse can serve as: “Stranger, teacher, resource person, leader, counselor, safety agent, mediator, and observer” (Sitzman, K., & Eichelberger, L., 2017, p.138-139). With every patient a nurse