During clinical this semester, I saw major improvements in my comfort level being around my patients. At the beginning of the semester, I was incredibly nervous to go in my patient’s rooms, and their families terrified me. The first three patients I had all had active family members in the room, and I found it incredibly difficult to evaluate my patient and spend time with them when I felt like the family members were watching my every move. I am sure my body language was a mess, with my arms tight by my side and my hands fidgeting. I would rush into the room, ask if the patient needed anything, and then rush back out for the next hour until I had to do it again. I was constantly worried that patients were going to ask me to do something I didn’t know how to do and then they would get mad that I was incompetent. I slipped felt myself slipping into customer service mode, which I am sure the patients could see was ingenuine. However, about four weeks in, I had a patient that didn’t speak English, and we were had to communicate on a very basic level. This patient was a turning point for me, and I was able to gain some confidence in myself that carried through the rest of clinical.
The patient that I had primarily spoke Arabic, but he knew some broken English words and phrases. I was able to focus a lot on my nonverbal skills, and he responded really well. I used therapeutic touch to reassure him when he got frustrated due to his confusion, and I maintained eye contact, smiled, and nodded as he attempted to explain the significance of his beads. It was one of the first times where I felt like my interaction was very genuine, because there was no point in putting on pretenses that the patient couldn’t understand. By spending time with this patient, we established some trust and I was able to identify his nonverbal indicators of pain. The experience felt enlightening, and I felt like I understood for the first time how to apply therapeutic communication techniques.
From then on, I have felt more comfortable interacting with patients and even their families. The very next week I was able to establish lines of communication and trust with my patient and his husband, and his situation required a lot of time and privacy. By creating a sense of comfort, my patient felt calmer and less embarrassed as I normalized his situation. Another week, my patient was on a ventilator, and she was incredibly anxious. I had to be a calming presence for her, so we could keep her oxygen stable. Making eye contact, using therapeutic touch, and a calming tone made it possible for her to relax during difficult turns and medication injections. For both of these patients, I was actively communicating with their families and providing education and updates on the patient’s conditions. By having these positive interactions, I was able to gain more confidence in my abilities and my role as a nursing student.
Unfortunately, clinical was cut short before I could make all the growth I had hoped. So, as we continue onto other clinicals, I want to improve my communication with family members. While I definitely feel more comfortable interacting with patients, I am still uncertain of my role with family members. Next year, I am supposed to be in the NICU for my peds rotation, and I hope that I can really hone my skills talking with families, because that will be the primary communication. I also want to work on discussing my patient’s emotional needs. I feel comfortable providing nonverbal support, but I want to get better at starting conversations about their feelings regarding the process. Now that I have more confidence in my skills, I want to make sure I am providing the best therapeutic communication for my patients, by staying aware of my communication and what I do right and wrong.