Top advice for nurses in the new year

10. 5 tips to help you console your patient

Therapeutic communication is one of the cornerstones of a nurse’s education. As part of the holistic approach to our care, we treat the patient, not the disease. This means we have to navigate through the murky and sometimes choppy waters of emotional support.

Most nurses understand and know how to use the basic concepts of therapeutic communication—it’s what separates our profession from most others, in my opinion. We have a unique bond on an emotional level with our patients that just cannot be described to a “non-nurse.”

I have a handful of tips that always “work” when I need to console a patient. And as a sidebar—“work” means I have lessened their discomfort (to any degree), or at least have given them the opportunity to feel just a tad bit safer during such a troubling time.

Here’s what I know works:

Undivided attention

• Close the door, close the curtain and minimize as many distractions as possible. If you can let your coworkers know you need an uninterrupted moment with your patient, do so.

See the rest of the tips here.