Nurse-Patient Relationship

Nurse-Patient Relationship

Introduction

Nurse-patient relationship is very important in nursing practice. It is this nurse-patient relation that is improving the patients well being, and the patient could be a group, a community, a family or an individual. Power, respect, intimacy, and trust are few essential factors of nurse-patient relationship, and they are there whenever a nurse provides its nursing services to the patient. Relationship between nurse and the patient is therapeutic; it depends on respect, intimacy and trusts with the patient and wants the proper utilization of the power. An important element in nurse to patient relationship that is even an important factor in Peplau's theory is the confidentiality. Look at the following case:

“Sophie being a nurse values independence and self care. She teaches an old man to carry out dialysis by himself. Sophie plans the teaching classes, takes out time for extra classes and is very rigid with the patient. He is a bit worried in learning, but Sophie continues in following the plan she has made for teaching. Sophie is quite sure that with time and efforts he would be able to do the dialysis by his own self. The family and the patient believe, together with the other people of their culture, that care is provided by the family when someone becomes ill. Sophie is not aware about these beliefs, and she observes that patient and his family is getting un-cooperative and at times aggressive towards her. Sophie replies by creating some irritated replies related to the un-cooperative patients.”

Discussion

The nurse-patient relationship is very much important in nursing practice. This nurse -patient relationship is the cause of the well-being of the patient, and the patient could be a family, an individual or community. Peplau thought that the key component of this relationship is what is happening between the patient and the nurse (Interpersonal Theory 5). This relation is based upon the interaction of feelings, thoughts and actions of each individual (5). Patient will face improving health if all of their needs are considered in this relationship (Peplau, Interpersonal Relations 9). Few of the factors of the theories are:

1. Contract- place, purpose and time of meetings and even termination conditions are developed between nurse and patient.

2. Confidentiality: the nurse should reveal the information with only the professional staff members who should know. The nurse must attain written permission of the patient in order to reveal information related to him with other people who are not in the treatment team.

3. Boundaries: jobs of the members are clearly described, the nurse is called as the professional helped, patient's problems and needs are the emphasis of the relationship.

4. Therapeutic nurse behaviours:

•Respectful, genuine and warm

•Empathy

•Self awareness

•Collaborative goal-setting

•Responsible ethical practice

•Cultural sensitivity

This theory clearly explains that the aims of nursing is to assist others recognizing felt difficulties of them. Principles of the human-relations should be applied by the nurses to the issues that appear at all experiencing levels. Phases of the inter-personal process have been explained in the Peplau's theory, tasks in nursing circumstances and ways of ...