Ian McGraw
NURS 2460
10 February 2020
Blog 3
After looking back at my short time in the clinical setting, my communication with my patients has been interesting and something I do look forward to. I still am a little nervous and uncomfortable in the morning right after nurse huddle to talk to my new patient. I believe that my first communication with each patient has been my biggest challenge so far. I am not a very outgoing person, but I am sociable and able to continue and start a conversation with someone, but it usually takes a decent amount of time for me to reach that comfort level with my peer. As I have been learning in nursing school through my brief time here, I grow based on uncomfortable situations and how I am able to handle them, whether that is in life or in the real clinical setting. These are skills I need to apply into the work area.
So with that being said, I need to learn and practice how to quickly become adjusted to my surroundings in the hospital setting, and learn how to become an excellent communicator to not only my patient, but also my colleagues. In the morning, I do not always feel comfortable, it is not like the nurses, PCA’s. or physicians scare me or intimidate me, but it is more that I do not know always know how to start a conversation that will get me the information I need about what I need to do that day or more importantly what I need to know about my patient. So, the past few times I have been in the hospital, I have just waited after huddle and almost looked lost in the early morning waiting to receive information about my patient, and waiting until my nurse introduces herself to me before I do, and then waiting for her to enter the patient’s room before me as well. To me, this may be perceived as being scared, shy, and uncomfortable which are skills no nurse should have in the hospital setting.
With that, I understand that it is a slow, progressive process that does take time, and I am not expected to have these communication and social skills done perfectly. There are techniques that I can apply to the hospital setting that can make this process go much smoother, though. First, I have to take initiative and maintain a steady level of confidence. I need to make it a point to start conversations with my colleagues as well as my nurse to develop that relationship early in the shift, and make sure they know that they can rely on me to serve our patient. This way, I will be able to gain a brief understanding of my patient and my job for the day without waiting around. By gaining this relationship, it will help me take that confidence into introducing myself and communicating with my patient for the first time that day. I also need to learn how to better control my emotions; I tend to be one that can stress out easily, and I do not ever want that the carry over into my job or choices during clinical practice. So, with the techniques applied in class, I will take deep breaths before entering my patient’s room as well as understand that I am capable to apply what I have been taught. This will help me carry over that confidence and stress-free energy to my patient to make them feel better as well. These are a few simple techniques that I need to apply in the clinical setting.
Like I state earlier, I understand that nothing is ever perfect in the profession and every nurse is learning something new each shift about themselves. Uncomfortable situations occur daily, and overcoming them shows a great deal of each nurse’s skills. Nursing takes time and a lot of practice, especially in communication with patients.