3. Patient and patient care Flashcards
What are the causes of aggression, anger or stress in a hospital environment?
•This is something I came across frequently in my capacity as a PALS officer, because my role was to discuss patients’ hospital experience with them and offer improvements to management
(1) Neglect
(2) Miscommunication
(3) Administration
(1) The most frequent cause of dismay was feeling neglected
o Patients felt like they received insufficient attention from doctors, and that healthcare professionals were prioritising some patients over others
o Often patients would reach out for nurses, who would ignore it or give blunt replies that weren’t attentive to a patient’s medical needs. This meant that patient concerns weren’t being deliberately addressed.
(2) Another source of dismay was miscommunication
o Patients asked me if I could clarify their diagnosis, this informed me that they had a poor understanding of their condition, inducing anxiety and stress
o Other patients were disappointed in that they werent prescribed their requested course of treatment. Unless properly communicated properly to patients, this made them feel as if healthcare professionals are ignoring their best interests
(3) Lastly, patients were disillusioned by the administration of the NHS, complaining about waiting times, delays and short appointment times that they had waited months for.
How would you make a patient feel less scared?
This is something I have experience in as a PALS officer, since sometimes patients felt more comfortable divulging their concerns to me, because I was simply a volunteer in a bright purple uniform.
(1) Firstly, it’s important to deduce what it is that is concerning a patient, since this will inform the tailored advice that I give. For example
- Fear of treatment –> unsure about what a treatment entails and its side effects. This requires claryfing a patient’s condition and management plan, and giving them the opportunity to ask questions. Consider: involving a doctor or nurse, since a patient may feel more comfort speaking to an authoritative figure; explaining the patient’s condition using more accessible language, pictures, diagrams or leaflets
- -> Fearful of the impact a condition might have on their life (e.g. epileptic driver may not be able to drive again). This can be dealt with through holistic medicine: means considering a patient’s financial, social, cultural and psychological needs as well as their medical history when prescribing patient treatments.
(2) I’ve also found it useful to demonstrate empathy, through using verbal acknowledgements like I understand/I would feel the same and through body language, such as nodding
- This teaches the patient that you understand and resonate with their struggle, so they feel heard, and helps build a relationship based on empathy and trust
-> All in all, it requires understanding what the patient’s concern is, delivering tailored advice to address their concerns, using verbal acknowledgements and knowing what a patient could benefit from.
