Care in patient care

Care in patient care

In Medicine, the patient is someone that suffers pain or discomfort. From the sociological point of view, the patient is a person receiving services from a healthcare professional to do a test, treatment or a surgical intervention.

Patients are in a vulnerable position, depending on doctors, nurses, therapists, etc. They have to go through bad experiences with injections, ailment, pain, medical techniques they do not understand, loss of privacy, loss of control of the environment, etc.

It is very important that the patient feels secure in all treatment process and the persons around him (doctors, nurses, family, etc.) give him this security.

Nurses know very well the importance of a proper relationship with the patient. In English, there is a term that defines this concept: “Bedside manner”.  We don´t have this phrase in Spanish, but all healthcare professionals know the importance of the meaning.

In the relationship of patient-nurse/doctor, it is very important:

•      Communication (verbal and non-verbal)
•           Forms and expressions of communication
•           Help relationship

Patients need to feel that they are in the best hands (professional and personal). During a treatment or test the patient needs:

•           To feel that he is important for the nurse/doctor
•           To understand technique (it is necessary that you explain it to him)
•           To understand that this is a phase to be better  (improvement or healing)
•           To feel comfortable and confident

It is necessary that the nurse/doctor knows how to handle:

§  Kindness

§  Empathy

§  Accompanying

§  Sympathy

§  To make the patient participant in the technique

§  To transmit relaxation

With all these ideas, I have wanted to do a summary of the principles of nursing care in general and relate from personal experience the concepts of nursing care that we put into practice on a daily basis with our patients in the IMTRA Incoma clinic.

Key words: nurse, patient, communication, help relationship, enfermería, paciente, cuidado, care, relación de ayuda.

Elena Miguel Poza - Nurse, nursing coordinator & trainer - Enfermera coordinadora y profesora de enfermería - IMTRA Instituto Madrileño de Traumatologia (Madrid Spain)
Tel: (0034) 915545405 Email: elena@imtra.es Web site in English: http://www.imtra.eu Web site in Spanish: www.imtra.biz