Nursing and Empathetic Concern, Essay Example

Nurses and nurse-care practitioners have a progressively important role in today’s hospitals, convalescent homes, and home care settings. Due to cost-cutting measures in health care and dynamic change within the health care system, busy nurses may find themselves stretched in too many directions.  At these times, the nurse’s role as a warm, caring individual may suffer.  Yet the patient needs more than medical supervision in order to fully mend; he or she needs also the human touch, the empathetic understanding to show that someone cares.

Discussion

As a primary caregiver working under the supervision of a physician, nurses always need to be aware of their vitally important role in carrying out the doctor’s specific instructions.  In this regard, the interplay between nurse and doctor has an indirect effect on the patient as well.  A compassionate and empathetic doctor who conveys real concern for his patients will likewise encourage nurses and other health-care professionals to deliver similar care.

Physicians who have a brusque, too-busy-to care, approach may pass this attitude onto others as well.  This has a negative effect on everyone in the medical staff, including hospital administrators, technicians, and others.  These influences are commonly felt throughout the hospital setting, wherein even the patients will have an internal sense of the overall tone there.  Patients may be sick and suffering, they may not know whether they will make it through alive, but unless they are in a comatose state they will know their surroundings and the people who surround them.

Nurses have a primary responsibility to their patients to deliver excellent professional care with the additional component of empathetic concern as well.  Alongside of our responsibility to understand and carry out important medical procedures, nurses seek to improve other people’s lives.  This purposeful aim requires an empathetic concern for others and the ability to express appropriate care and feeling for their patients in every scenario, remaining cheerful and calm even when our patients may be difficult.  The competent nurse will understand and empathize with them, providing them with a source of comfort to get through their pain.

The experience that Gene Higgins relayed about his treatment by various nurses and doctors demonstrates how important these relationships are.  Describing himself as just a piece of meat was particularly disturbing in its depiction of how some medical care practitioners go about their business.  When he met the deaf nurse who truly shared her family stories and personal challenges with him, they discovered a common bond and connected in a familiar way.  This story had a very inspiring message because it highlights the human touch in the patient-nurse relationship.  In some ways, his story was unique as a particularly poignant connection between them; they were kindred spirits, so to speak.  Yet the possibility of a shared common interest with our patients, one that can spark real communication and even friendship, gives a special meaning to our profession as we interact with others on this personal level.  We can share family stories, or listen empathetically to theirs, or discuss any number of interesting topics and common points of interest.  The universal understanding between humans is one of communication and empathetic concern.

Conclusion

Any health-care professional can make similar connections with their patients as a routine practice, by asking questions about their families, their interests in life–professional, personal, or avocational hobbies they have loved.  These topics can spark a common interest, and we will probably be both surprised and intrigued to learn more about them.  In addition to excellent medical attention for our patients, talking with them interestedly is truly a part of our job.