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Importance of communication in health care
Caring in the nursing profession
Importance of good communication in healthcare
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What is caring? In any healthcare profession caring is an important concept, but what does it really mean to care? Opinions on the meaning of caring vary depending on the person and the situation. It seems that most people think of caring differently than nurses do, and nurses think of caring differently than other healthcare workers. Which arises another question, is caring in nursing different than other healthcare disciplines? What does it mean to care as a nurse? Why is caring important in nursing? After speaking to friends and family I have heard many different thoughts on what caring is believed to be defined as.
Definition of Caring: Caring in nursing is much more than just assisting patients with personal hygiene care
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Attention
Attention is defined as “notice taken of someone or something; the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important”.
Attention is an important characteristic of caring in nursing because it helps the patient feel important and acknowledged.
Comfort
Comfort is defined as “a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint” by the Oxford online dictionary (2016).
Comfort is important to caring in nursing because it is the nurse 's job to try and help the patient feel at ease and be pain free.
Communication
Communication is defined as “ “ by the online oxford dictionary (2016).
Communication is an important concept of caring in nursing because the nurse has to know how to communicate efficiently in order to get the patient to trust the nurse enough to open up to the nurse and also the nurse needs to communicate respectfully to show the patient that they genuinely do care about their health and want to help them as much as they
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The nurse made sure that my grandfather was comfortable, checking up on him regularly and asking if he needed his bed adjusted or if he needed a drink of water
The nurse made sure my grandfather felt protected. My grandfather was on morphine for his pain which made him disorientated. My grandfather thought that he was seeing people coming after him with swords and was quite frightened. The nurse made sure to stay with him and reassure him that it was only the medication making him a bit out of it and that there was nothing to worry about, that she would take good care of him and protect him from any possible dangers
Conclusion
Caring is a very important component of nursing. Caring is important to nursing because it is a nurse 's job to care for the patient and make sure all is well. If a nurse was not caring, than the patient would not feel safe and not receive the best care possible. Nurses have to use all of the key characteristics mentioned in order to achieve excellent patient
Leo Buscaglia once said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” In the field of nursing, this concept could not be illustrated more profoundly. The trait of caring within nursing is arguably the most important trait that a nurse could possess. It can be defined in various ways, but to me, caring is the act of being moved or compelled to action by feelings of compassion, empathy, sympathy, anger, intention, sadness, fear, happiness, protection, enlightenment, or love in light of another human being. There are many aspects to the term “caring”. It is an ever-present shape shifter, swiftly
Caring is the “central theme and core of nursing caring tapestry” (Otterbein University, 2009, p. 2). When developing caring characteristics as a nurse and caring interventions, this in return helps
The phenomenon of interest has been identified as the expressions of caring by nurses on acute care general surgical wards (Enns, C., Gregory, D., 2007). This problem statement was addressed promptly and clearly in the article. The caring research that has been obtained in other studies has yielded inconsistent results due to the varying definitions of caring. Numerous research has been done on the phenomenon of caring by nurses specializing in several areas but the population of surgical nurses has been “relatively neglected in caring research” (Enns, 2007). Caring is a phenomenon that has been universal throughout nursing, it is a trend that will forever be current due to the ever changing scope of nursing. Increasing demands on nursing staff and the acuity of the patients causes stressors to the “surgical ward environment (and) affect nurses’ ability to provide ideal care” (Enns, 2007). The aim of this report is to answer the question “What are the expressions of caring from a surgical nurses’ perspective?” (Enns, 2007). An appropriate qualitative study has been chosen because “...
This may be affected more in some fields of nursing than in others due to the amount of time each nurse can be spent with each patient, but should always be incorporated as much as possible. Potter et al. mentions that "by establishing a caring relationship, the understanding that develops helps the nurse to better know the patient as a unique individual and choose the most appropriate and efficacious nursing therapies" (2013, p. 85). By getting to know your patient, it makes your routine slightly easier as you can engage in practice knowing how that patient reacts, thinks and copes with different situations. It also allows that bond of comfort and trust to exist that will have the patient open up to personal feelings and other necessary subjective data needed to fully care for the individual as well as develops credibility when patient education is initiated. This is something that may develop over time but in the acute setting can be established by simply remembering the name of the patient, sometimes that may be all that is necessary for the patient to feel known by the nurse. Just reciprocating conversation about life, their experiences, their fears, and their thoughts on health is substantial for developing a caring moment and incorporating the fourth caritas process between the patient and
The introduction paragraph gives information on communication and the impact that it has on patient-nurse relationships. It gives the reader an understanding of what is involved in true communication and how that it is a fundamental part of nursing and skills all nurses need. It leads those interested in delivering quality nursing to read on. Showing us the significance that communication makes in the
In conclusion, Jean Watson’s theory of caring, a middle-range theory, provides essential framework and guidelines in nursing shortage problem. Nurses who exposed to caring theory have moral and ethical obligations to care for others during challenging situations. Patients, families and other professionals depend on nursing profession, their expertise and knowledge for best patient
“Communication is the heart of nursing… your ability to use your growing knowledge and yourself as an instrument of care and caring and compassion” (Koerner, 2010, as cited in Balzer-Riley, 2012, p. 2). The knowledge base which Koerner is referring to includes important concepts such as communication, assertiveness, responsibility and caring (Balzer-Riley, 2012). Furthermore, communication is complex. It includes communication with patients, patient families, doctors, co-workers, nurse managers and many others. Due to those concepts and the variety of people involved, barriers and issues are present. Knowing how to communicate efficiently can be difficult.
In nursing practice, communication is essential, and good communication skills are paramount in the development of a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This aim of this essay is to discuss the importance of communication in nursing, demonstrating how effective communication facilitates a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship. This will be achieved by providing a definition of communication, making reference to models of communication and explaining how different types of communication skills can be used in practise.
Two concepts at the heart of nursing are comfort and caring. The Meriam Webster dictionary defines comfort as easing grief or trouble, as well as giving hope or strength. The definition of caring is showing or feeling concern for others. Theorists Jean Watson and Katharine Kolcaba seek to enhance nurses understanding of caring and comforting patients through their respective theories. This paper will discuss their theories using a stepwise approach.
Nurses are an equally important part of each client’s life. Nurses provide stable care to each client, answer their questions, give medications and treatments, and assist with medical procedures. They also have the responsibility to explain to clients and family members what they should and should not do as they go through treatment and recovery. Nurses must quickly respond to patients needs. Every individual nurse has his or her own unique way of caring.
Nurses today need to have excellent communication skills. Receiving information from patients is the most important aspect of nursing. If nurses are unable to communicate with their patient then they would not be able to have a relationship with them. Communication is where two or more people interact with each other, by using sounds and words, this is verbal communication. Some individuals have different behaviors where they try to express themselves to others without using spoken words, this is non verbal communication. Once nurses have the proper communication tools, techniques and evidence based practice, when communicating with their patient, they would get the necessary information needed from the patient to properly diagnosis them.
Communication in the nursing practice and in healthcare is important because when talking with patients, their families, and staff, the nurse and the nursing student needs to be able to efficiently express the information that they want the other person to understand. “Verbal communication is a primary way of transmitting vital information concerning patient issues in hospital settings” (Raica, 2009, para. 1). When proper communication skills are lacking in nursing practice, the chances of errors and risks to the patient’s safety increases. One crucial aspect of communication that affects the patient care outcome is how the nurse and the nursing student interacts and communicates with the physicians and other staff members. If the nurse is not clear and concise when relaying patient information to other members of the healthcare team the patient care may be below the expected quality.
Nursing contains many aspects of professionalism. Appearance, responsibility, respect, and attitude are a few components that contribute to what makes a patient feel comfortable when dealing with nursing professionals. But, what about caring? Caring is also an important aspect of professionalism in the nursing field. If a patient does not feel a nurse or medical professional cares about them on an individual bases, they may not be willing to be as open and honest about what their ailments are. Which poses a problem; how can a nurse take “care” of a patient if he or she is not willing to divulge what is wrong? Secondly, listening is also another part that contributes to professionalism in the nursing environment.
Over the past few decades, the necessity for this relationship between patient and nurse has increased immensely. In recent years, the health-care industry has emphasized on the provision of patient-centered care to generate effective care, to furthermore increase the satisfaction of the patient. The capability to convey patient centered care is recognized as a fundamental characteristic of expert nursing.
One can find caring practices in many aspects of human life. Usually parents care for their young children, and children care for their older parents, husbands and wives care for their spouses, etc. In the professional scope, usually healthcare professionals associated with care. The foundation of nursing practice is an idea of caring. “Caring is important for many reasons, but is considered crucial for quality healthcare” (Tanking, 2010, p.3). So, what does caring actually mean?