“Sir, our patient’s relative would like to talk to you,” were the words of my staff nurse as she approach me. “Why?” as I answered back, “Im not sure? She just got mad suddenly after I gave the patient’s medications,” was her reply.

 

As an acting head nurse in one of unit in our institution, this kind of scenario is a part of my day to day duty. I encounter different situations, where different kind of complaints are being brought to the discussion. I encounter Travelbee’s Theory, not only apply for patients who are ill and suffering, but also for their love ones that are hurting seeing them sick.

 

Round 1: Original Encounter.

I feel tense, as I knock on the patient’s room, maybe because I don’t know what to expect; but as I always do, I take deep breathes and remind myself that this is part of what I do as a nurse. As the patient’s door open, I saw the 75 year old female patient on her bed and beside her, her 45 year old daughter. “Good morning ma’am! My name is Paulo, the acting head nurse of the unit. How are you today?” as I introduce myself. The patient’s daughter just stared, giving me the impression that something is wrong.

 

Nursing is a very stressful career, that I can testify; and my personal life, trying to juggle between work, study and other activities also takes a lot of demand. So every time I put on the white uniform, I make it a point to leave my personal matters aside, and be a full time nurse. Every time a walk the halls of our hospital, I make sure that I am focused in caring for my patients; through this way, my patients and their relatives will identify me as their nurse, and I am there to care, listen and support.

 

Round 2: Emerging Identities.

 “Good morning ma’am! My name is Paulo, the acting head nurse of the unit. How are you today?”  The 75 year old patient smiled and answered, “I feel fine, much better than yesterday.” I talked with the patient cheerfully; asking about why she was admitted, her previous job, about her family and other things. I also talked about my experiences as a nurse, how other patients like her recovered, and things that she needs to do after her discharge. That time, the daughter was listening to our conversation, nodding; and that for me is a good sign.

 

I always advice my nurses to always communicate with your patients, by talking to them, we learn something new and it also helps us nurses in planning for their care. Always involve the patient in their course of care, explain every procedure, tell them every medication, its effects and side effects, and also let the patient talk, share and express their feelings if any queries arise. We should always know the needs of our patient, and at the same time the patient recognizes as us professionals that are there to support them and care for them. Once we establish this good working relation with the patient, people surrounding the patient; their love ones will notice it and will respect us nurses as the patient’s care provider. This relationship becomes the foundation of trust.

 

Round 3: Empathy.

The patient’s daughter is now listening to our conversation. I then took the opportunity to pop the question, “How are the nurses treating you?” It was then her daughter spoke, “Everything’s fine so far, but the nurse earlier gave my mom’s medication all at the same time, making her cough up a bit” referring to the nurse that approached me earlier. The daughter started to narrate the events earlier, and I stood there listening as she speaks.

 

Once trust is established, the patient or in this case the relative shared something. As a nurse, I need to hear her concern; I need to listen in a professional level, to hear her objectively and make sure that I will not involve personal emotion with the matter at hand. I must identify and evaluate this situation to help resolve the situation.

 

 Round 4: Sympathy.

I understand thru the daughter’s statement her concern and care for the patient, and I imagined that I too would not like my patient to suffer anymore. So I gently said, “Ma’am, In behalf of the unit’s nurses, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience you experienced, and I would like to say thank you for sharing your concern, we will be using this for the improvement of our service.” The patient’s daughter seems to be in a lighter mood by that time as I politely left the room.

 

Objectively understanding the patient’s need is the proper way of effectively rendering care. In that scenario, after knowing the concern, I talked with the nurse and heard her side of the story; we then deducted some plans to better improve the nursing care that we provide.

 

Final Round: Rapport.

After a few days, the patient recovered and was ordered for discharge. While the patient being transported for discharge, the daughter approached me in the station, she handed me a letter and then waved goodbye. I opened the letter and it contained her appreciation of the nursing care we have provided her mother with. These kinds of appreciation are the boost we need to keep on improving our nursing service.

 

A good rapport is the end product of all the trust nurses have established with their patients. Nurses needs to use this rapport in helping their patients reach the goal of fast recovery.