therapeutic communication

Brook and I agree that this video puts things into perspective because you never truly know what someone is going through, what they are feeling, or if they are anxious, and what they are anxious about. Therefore, when you are providing nursing care it is so important to make sure you are not just providing physical medical care but also care for each individual holistically. Always inquire about not just pain levels but what they are worried about. Asking those open-ended questions helps ensure that you can ease as much anxiety or other feelings that they are experiencing at that time. It is also so important to understand you are seeing people at their worst. Because of that, it is possible that they will project their anger or frustrations to you. It is imperative that you don’t take it personally but continue to be kind, respectful, and do everything you can to care for the patient.

The first thing we would implement in our nursing practice is using therapeutic communication. Using therapeutic communication is imperative to build rapport with your patients. This will allow the patient to trust you which will relieve some anxiety that they may be feeling. Another thing we would implement is a policy that ensures we provide holistic care so each nurse cares for their patient’s psyche and not just physically. Lastly, we would implement emphasizing including the patient in their care plan. This would allow the patient to be active in their care which can also relieve some anxiety. This also allows the patient to feel more open and free to ask as many questions that they have which ultimately provides more information to the nurse such as whether more teaching is needed or if the nurse needs to advocate for the patient.