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I think throughout clinical I have definitely become more comfortable with patients. Through this semester I had a great instructor, Elizabeth Gorkoski who was very encouraging and knowledgable. She helped me learn how to speak to patients in a formal and still approachable manner. I think that this class has helped me recognize and implement better ways to communicate with patients as well. I try to use therapeutic techniques and focusing on the patient. I have caught myself still say non therapeutic things sometimes. I tend to want to ask “why” out of curiosity to patients but I know that phrase can come off as judgmental. I also can continue to improve on symmetry with my voice and facial expressions. I tend to become focused on something that sometimes my face and body language can become a bit stiff. In my future practice I would like to be more relaxed and show more of myself to patients. I know that forming connections with patients is important, and by being more authentically myself I will be able to make more relationships. It is hard for me sometimes because I overthink things I say, which can actually impede my communication I think. I want to be able to truly become the most therapeutic nurse I can be. I think by continuing to reflect and try to use therapeutic communication, I will.

The video I watch was called “The difference between care and caring” which I found on YouTube. It focused on patient centered care as the healthcare situation, specifically pertaining to accommodating to needs and desires of the dying patient and their family. In the video an older man and woman are dying, which you can assume are spouses possibly. It also features a man and a woman who are middle aged and coming in to visit the patients. In it you can see that a nurse asks them when they look confused if they needed help. I thought this was positive communication since the nurse could read their faces and offered to assist. However, once they got into one of the patient’s rooms it appeared that no healthcare provider was there to greet or discuss their loved ones coming death which I thought was negative communication. In the video, it cuts to a scene where a nurse recognizes that 2 patients have the same last name. This leads to them being able to bring the couple together side by side as they are about to die. It was a very touching video. I thought it was great communication on the nurse to see this and think maybe they should be together. In the end of the video both of the patients seemed at peace and their family members seemed to be accepting. If this were to happen in reality, I would imagine the nurse would feel very content with making their last hours as best as possible. This shows how if possible, nurses can individualize patient care and needs. Especially with such an emotional process like death.

I think that one of my biggest communication challenge is just feeling personally comfortable when I am caring for a patient. Sometimes I feel awkward being so personal with them. I think I feel this way because I am not an extremely “touchy” person in general. Therefore it feels weird to be touching a stranger all over. I try my best to mask that this is not an issue for me. It is more of an internal issue. I think that overtime it will simply become more normalized for me as I continue to work. I also feel that as I become more confident in my personal skills, I will feel more comfortable doing physical procedures with patients. Also, if I try to practice assessments on friends and family members might make me feel better.

I think that I overthink what I say and do when I am in a patients room. I know that in therapeutic communication, there are specific ways to say and do things so that it comes off the right way to a patient. I am a person who tends to be hard on myself, which I think contributes to this challenge. I want to be the best nurse I can be and come off as confident to others. I have to remind myself that I will mess up and that is okay. I will learn from any mistakes I make. I think that I can work on this challenge by taking a few deep breaths when I feel anxious or unsure. This is another challenge that I think I will overcome with time and experience.

For this people watching assignment, I decided to watch how students interact in the Thompson library. Depending on where I was looking, I could see different interactions and communication around me. At tables, people would talk in soft voices to be considerate towards the other students around them. People would lean in towards the person who was speaking to give them attention and be able to hear their whispers. Other students were alone and appeared less approachable. I know that I tend to curl up more at the library when I sit alone vs with a group. Some students facial expressions looked focus and alert on their books or laptops. While others appeared more dull and I could tell they really did not want to be there. The students who appeared bored also tended to be checking their phones more than students who appeared more awake. From where I was sitting in the library, I could also see interactions in a glass room that students reserve for group studying. Even though I could not hear they communication, I could tell they were more animated than those not in reserved rooms. People were writing on the dry erase boards, walking around, smiling more, and had bigger hand gestures while they spoke. This is probably due to the fact that they knew the glass keeps in their noise. Overall, most people seemed to be using technology in the library. Whether it was for school work, listening to music, or possibly texting a friend, most students were using some technology. This does not surprise me since technology has been more and more integrated into assignments and schooling. Also people can collaborate with classmates over the phone instead of meeting up together face to face.