The Importance Of Physical Environment In Nursing

supplying a physical environment to ensure that a patient’s privacy is well-protected. That is because there is an indispensable link between the physical environment and health care outcome (Joseph & Malone, 2012). The physical environment can improve patient safety, decrease patient’s stress and improve overall healthcare quality. On the contrary, an environment that lacks privacy makes nurse-patient communication difficult, especially when they discuss sensitive medical conditions and important treatment options. It may also erode the patient’s trust and inhibit a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship. One study found that 5 percent of patients in curtained spaces reported they withheld portions of their medical history and refused parts

In general, if the nurse meets a health consumer’s cultural needs, the nurse’s practice will lead to good health outcomes and contribute to professional nursing. However, the nurse’s practice does not reflect the expected standard, which has a negative impact on the resident. The patient may feel emotionally uncomfortable and disrespected. When a patient is admitted to a healthcare agency, they expect to receive comfort care with respect and understanding from health practitioners. However, neglect of their cultural needs can make patient’s emotions fluctuate wildly, which can lead to disastrous consequences (Kathryn, 2011). Besides that, the patient might feel unsafe when a nurse’s behaviour is incompetent and unprofessional, which reduces a health consumer’s safety which is the core aim of the Code of Conduct (Guy,

According to Olshansky (2011), nursing is regularly rated as the most trusted profession. However, when individual nurses fail to meet their professional standards set by the Council, public trust will be eroded. Patients will not feel supported and cared for by health practitioners. If a health consumer trusts the nurse, the health consumer will be more willing to share information about their history, which allow more accurate assessments and treatment plans to be developed. Without a trusting environment, there is less chance that the patient will be open with the nurse. Ultimately, an untrusting relationships will decrease the ability to provide higher quality and safe health care (NZNC, 2012c). What is worse, a the poor bahaviour of one nurse may make public doubt the New Zealand healthcare