Crossing the Line

[mmremy]

I am starting my first clinicals this summer in Nursing school and was interested in some feedback on "crossing the line ",or how close is too close to your patients? At what point should I as a professional nurse intervene on behalf of a patient and when to pull back? I guess I want to know how to be the best advocate for my patients and about putting them first without getting too close to them.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

mmremy

[zenman]

I am starting my first clinicals this summer in Nursing school and was interested in some feedback on "crossing the line ",or how close is too close to your patients? At what point should I as a professional nurse intervene on behalf of a patient and when to pull back? I guess I want to know how to be the best advocate for my patients and about putting them first without getting too close to them.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,

mmremy

Intervene when harm might be caused to the patient. Nurses also seem to come up with more ideas on what the patient needs/wants since we talk more with them. Share those with the team. As my Hapkido teacher says, "I'm not your friend cause you're not coming over to my house all the time." Be friendly and that's it. You're responsible for the quality of the effort you put into the care of a patient but not for the outcome. If you're too close you might miss something.