Nurse-patient relationship
INTRODUC TION
The nurse–patient relationship is a professional, therapeutic relationship
designed to enable nurses to plan, deliver and evaluate care
that meets patients’ unique health needs (Feo, Rasmussen, Wiechula,
Conroy, & Kitson, 2017; Gordon, 2006; Weinberg, 2006). The importance
of a safe, trusting nurse–patient relationship for patient care experiences
and outcomes, and for nurse satisfaction, is well established
(Bridges et al., 2013; Feo, Donnelly, Muntlin Athlin, & Jangland, 2019;
Marshall, Kitson, & Zeitz, 2012; Wiechula et al., 2015). The importance
of this relationship is reflected and reinforced by global initiatives on
person‐centred care, safety and quality, and fundamental care (Kitson,
Conroy, Kuluski, Locock, & Lyons, 2013), which argue that trusting
professional–patient relationships are a cornerstone of quality health
care. However, documented care failures globally (Francis, 2013;
Groves, Thomson, McKellar, & Procter, 2017) have re‐focused public
and academic attention on the quality of nursing care and nurse–patient
relationships. Much of this focus has been on nurses’ attitudes
or emotions, with questions raised as to whether nurses have lost the
ability to care (Darbyshire & McKenna, 2013). In response to such
concerns is a growing number of professional development programs
dedicated to increasing nurses’ compassion and empathy (e.g., Bridges
& Fuller, 2015; Dewar & Cook, 2014; Edinburgh Napier University &
NHS Lothian, 2012). This is coupled with a renewed emphasis on the
appropriateness of entry pathways into nursing, ensuring people who
enter the profession have the requisite capacity to care (Francis, 2013).
Whilst attitudes and emotions are important, they are only part of
what constitutes an effective nurse–patient relationship; behaviours
are also crucial. These behaviours—tangible demonstrations of how
nurses develop and maintain relationships with patients (Wiechula
et al., 2015)—are what patients see and experience during their care.
Hence, improving care delivery and nurse–patient relationships requires
focusing on behaviour. Even more crucial is measuring and evaluating
these behaviours in a robust, systematic manner. Measuring
observable behaviours provides an objective means of assessing,
within clinical practice, education and research, how nurses develop
and maintain relationships with patients. This type of measurement
offers a level of objectivity and tangibility not readily afforded by
measures of attitude and emotion. In turn, the knowledge generated
from such measures can (a) provide evidence on the quality of
nurse–patient relationships, ensuring patient safety and positive care
experiences; (b) provide nurses with performance feedback, offering
resources for reflective practice; (c) inform organisational metrics,
providing evidence for healthcare organisations to target areas for
improving nursing care and patient outcomes; and (d) inform nursing
education and professional development, assisting educators in
measuring, monitoring and evaluating students’ and nurses’ progress
إرسال تعليق