As a nurse, there are many different kinds of people who walk through your doors daily. And, while most patients are more than willing to let you do your job (i.e. care for them), some might put up a little resistance, requiring a little more effort on your end.
On Monday, we gave a few tips on what not to do when dealing with an unruly patient. To round off our series, today, we’re going to talk about what you should do when dealing with unruly patients. Take a look below:
Empathize with your patient
Being sick is never easy; for some people it can be really difficult to deal with, especially those who don’t like being taken out of their element.
Showing your patient that you understand what they are going through is one way to help ease the stress of the situation. Empathizing with them helps to make them feel like they have some control over the situation, making it much easier for you to help care for them.
Communicate with them
In some instances, patients who act out may only be doing so because they are afraid or nervous of being in the hospital. To help the situation, try your best to keep their mind off of what is going. Whether you talk about yourself, or ask them questions about their lives, striking up a conversation that goes beyond the medical charts can help take away the stress of being sick.
Building a sense of trust also helps to break down any barriers or guards your patient might put up. In turn, this sense of trust can improve the quality of care because they are more willing to listen to you.
Stay positive
Above all, you need to stay positive. Your mood and outlook affects the patient much more than you think. While it may not change their mood around completely, it certainly makes things less tense when a patient doesn’t have a negative attitude to bounce off of.
Dealing with an unruly patient isn’t easy. But, by keeping these simple tips in mind, we hope they will help to ease the situation, making for a much better experience all around and ensuring the best quality care possible.
Have you ever had a negative experience with a patient? How did you handle it? You can share your story by connecting with us on Twitter or by commenting below. We’d love to hear from you!
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photo credit: mollyjolly via photopin cc
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