Bedside manners

Nurses Relations

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What are some of your bedside manner tips?

Sometimes I am convinced that the rooms are booby trapped!

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Think before you speak. Maintain a verbal filter, and remember that silence is not always a bad thing.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

Treat every patient with respect, even if they don't reciprocate.

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Specializes in CICU.

As others have said, introduce yourself. I ask if they need the bathroom or any help before I start my assessment / med pass. I make sure they know they can use the call light OR call my phone directly for help and that I round hourly. On my initial visit/assessment, I ask how supper was, that way I can snag something from the pantry before everything is picked-over if they didn't get enough to eat.

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So far it seems most of you are talking about the hospital. I think LTC has it's own set of rules re:bedside manner. Obviously, introducing yourself would be kind of weird. In LTC it pays to be much more laid back. I joke around with the residents, even tease some of them. Sometimes we "gamble" on what their glucoscan reading will be. One guy who gets a bucket of pills every night jokes that I'm just throwing random pills at him. I always reply that I just choose which pills I think look pretty together. Or I say I'm just giving him the "leftovers". A particularly priggish NM overheard me one night and made a big thing out of it. I'm always puzzled by nurses who equate a sense of humor with unprofessionalism. In a LTC setting, what is to be gained by being so uptight and conservative? I think having a strict, ultra-professional bedside manner in LTC just puts the residents on edge....

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Specializes in Allergy/Immunology.

I completely agree with the first response :) And since I want to work LTC, Brandon's post reflects how I'd see myself being :)

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Brandon---your post just made LTC look all that much more appealing! I love joking with and teasing my patients! Having humor with patients makes your day and theirs brighter and more enjoyable!

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
So far it seems most of you are talking about the hospital. I think LTC has it's own set of rules re:bedside manner. Obviously, introducing yourself would be kind of weird. In LTC it pays to be much more laid back. I joke around with the residents, even tease some of them. Sometimes we "gamble" on what their glucoscan reading will be. One guy who gets a bucket of pills every night jokes that I'm just throwing random pills at him. I always reply that I just choose which pills I think look pretty together. Or I say I'm just giving him the "leftovers". A particularly priggish NM overheard me one night and made a big thing out of it. I'm always puzzled by nurses who equate a sense of humor with unprofessionalism. In a LTC setting, what is to be gained by being so uptight and conservative? I think having a strict, ultra-professional bedside manner in LTC just puts the residents on edge....

It's kind of the same in psych with the long-term or frequent flyers, those who we know very well and we know would prefer a less formal approach going both ways (us with them, them with us). As long as rules aren't broken and the milieu isn't threatened, it's all good.

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Oh, you can often get more relaxed as the shift wears on. But one of the idiosyncrasies of nursing is that within moments of meeting our patients for the first time ever, we are pretty much strippin' 'em nekkid and touching them all over, and pressing a possibly cold stethoscope on previously warm and cozy torsos. "Hi, I'm Piglet! (yank)". And the thing is, as a nurse you're busy and running on adrenaline, and there's your patient, maybe almost asleep. I learned a lot when I first precepted a nurse, and I was able to step back and watch the care, and talk with the patient afterward. I thought the nurse was personable, and maybe a LITTLE rushed but not terribly so. The patient's perception was that she came in, said "I'm gonna give you this shot in your belly" and yanked the covers off and it was done before he had a chance to answer.

So I've made more of an effort to be slow and maybe a little formal at first, at least, in case later I come off rushed. At least I've made a good first impression.

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Remember that it's not all about you

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