A book can teach you the what’s of patient care. Experience will teach you how.
Though it’s always good to start with a textbook to learn the basics, there comes a point in your nursing education when the only way to learn is through hands-on experience.
Among these are establishing a strong nurse-patient relationship, proper bedside manner, delivering difficult news, or lending a compassionate hand or empathetic ear. And that’s just scratching the surface.
Here are a few things to help you master patient care in your transition from the classroom to the clinical:
Patient care is not about what, but how
Nursing is more than what meets the eye. Memorizing lab values, signs and symptoms, and medications is one thing, but knowing how to convey serious information to your patient is another. Skills like therapeutic communication are taught heavily in nursing school, but must be put into practice to understand fully.
Therapeutic communication involves the ability to convey difficult news or instructions regarding patient care. Since it takes two to communicate—and each person communicates differently—therapeutic communication can only be fully understood and mastered when you are on the floor with your patients.
Patient care is a package deal
Patient care not only means caring for the patient, but also for the patient’s family. If you see friends and relatives who have been with your patient for countless hours, offer them a cup of coffee, and reassure them that their needs matter.
Like nurses, it is common for distressed family members to forget to take care of themselves, so it’s important to let them know it’s OK to make their own health and needs a priority. Plus, the better they feel, the more they will be able to be there for the patient and help you out as well.
Patient care sees the body-spirit connection
Though healthcare professionals often focus on a patient’s physical needs, good patient care recognizes the whole person. One aspect often overlooked or avoided is a patient’s spiritual or religious needs. Rather than seeing this as taboo or controversial, giving patients options communicates you are dedicated to making sure they remain comfortable and receive customized patient care.
For example, some patients place a high importance on modesty and would prefer only female medical workers to help with their care. Or depending on the severity of their physical or emotional state, some might benefit from a spiritual advisor coming into pray with them or offer other religious sacraments. Again, asking is not imposing or infringing upon freedoms, it’s simply reminding them of their freedom to choose.
Mastering the art of patient care is one of the most rewarding parts of nursing. No two patients are the same, so there is never a dull moment and always more to learn. And you’ll soon find that a couple weeks on the job will teach you more than a couple years of nursing school.
Still need to brush up on the basics of patient care? Check out our free nursing review resources.
The post The Meaning of Nursing Pt. 2: Patient Care, Beyond the Book appeared first on Calling All Nurses.