Do you care "FOR" your patients or care "ABOUT" your patients?

[Lanceman]

I saw someone make the comment "I care for my patients, not about them". So my questions are:

-Who out there views nursing as getting paid to care "for" patients?

-Who out there feels they get paid to care "about" patients?

-Who feels they do both?

-Who feels that nursing has nothing to do with getting "paid" and they care for people from their heart, not their pocketbook?

Definitions:

care FOR - provide correct professional care and fulfill the patient's needs with no emotional attachment.

care ABOUT - have a genuine heartfelt interest in the outcome of the patient, like one would for a family member or friend.

I personally do not care that much for people other than my family or friends. I just don't have any personal feelings when dealing with strangers. I don't want to seem cold, I am genuinely friendly and personable with most people I meet. I want to provide the best correct care possible and don't like seeing bad things happen to people but I also prefer to leave it at work when I walk out the door. I look at this as a professional career and not so much as a contribution to all of mankind.

- Do you think this type of attitude is a benefit or downfall?

I would think emotionally caring about people, especially in the revolving door of a hospital, might be somewhat mentally draining and stressful at times, does anyone else agree?

[fergus51]

As long as a nurse does a good job, I could care less what motivates them. Personally, for me it's a combination of both most of the time.

[sbic56, BSN, RN]

I definitely agree in the caring 'for' as opposed to 'about' patients. When I first started in healthcare as a CNA there were a few patients I got really atached to, ie cared about. It was devastating when they died! For me it was a learning process. I learned to care for my patients without caring too much. I'd have gone nuts if I hadn't learned where to draw the line!

[leslie :-D]

i care about my patients.

and yes, i treat them as i would my own family.

that doesn't mean i always get emotionally attached/involved, yet everyone deserves to get the best of the best.

i would much rather have a nurse that shows warmth and concern than a nurse who just does her tasks only.....

leslie

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Definately both. I'd prefer to give a little too much of myself than too little.

Over the years, especially in dialysis where you do become "family" with your patients, I have learned the balance. I remember the first two years being devastated when we would lose patients I was used to seeing 3 x wk.

I can accept it much better now, and understand we can't cure them, only help them live the best lives they can for the duration... whatever time that may be.

But that does not prevent me from giving my ALL in their care. And by that I mean of my time, my energy, my knowlege, skills..AND my emotional involvement while they are in my care. If my heart's not in it, I can't function in this profession. And by "heart" I mean emotional caring.. caring ABOUT.

There is a balance. Sooner or later we all find it. For me, I find I do a much better job of caring FOR.. .. FAR better.. when I allow myself to care ABOUT.

[directcare4me]

i care about my patients.

and yes, i treat them as i would my own family.

that doesn't mean i always get emotionally attached/involved, yet everyone deserves to get the best of the best.

i would much rather have a nurse that shows warmth and concern than a nurse who just does her tasks only.....

leslie

I always try to treat my patients/their families as I would want my own loved ones treated. I think that it sounds like the OP does this too; I do this without any or very little emotional involvement, but with a great deal of "warmth" and professional concern. I didn't take the original post to mean that those of us who provide competent, professional, friendly care to mean that we do our tasks only. Most of my patients probably think that I do care.

Actually, this is the kind of nurse that I would want to take care of someone in my family. As long as the care is competent and with basic friendliness, that would be fine with us. Good questions.

[danu3]

Well, you definitely need to care FOR the patient.

As for care ABOUT, I don't think it is either you CARE about or you do NOT CARE about your patient. It is not a "binary" thing. I feel it would be an extra bonus for the patient if one does care about one's patient to a certain degree. That is to a degree where the patient feel warmth and genuine caring. But not to a degree that it burn the nurse out. Also the degree is different for each patient as some patients are easier to care about then others.

What else, it also depends on the environment. I mean in an ER situation where everything is at lighting speed, it is kind of hard to form a bond to care about. Or in OR, it is kind of hard to form a bond with a patient who is under. But in LTC environment, palliative care enviornoment, and other environment where you keep seeing the same patients day in and day out, then I think a bond can form where you can care about the patient.

In psych, sometimes you also have to slowly terminate a relationship in a gentle caring way as the patient recovers so they can move on.

Guess it is a balance. Don't want to be so professional as the patient feel we are distant and cold. Don't want to be so close that when the patient leaves (either died or get better and move on) that we have to go through a huge grieving process everytime, that would burn out a person in no time.

-Dan

[SmilingBluEyes]

QUOTE: "Do you care "FOR" your patients or care "ABOUT" your patients?"

both actually.

[asher315]

I definitely care for my patients. And there are times I come to about certain ones but I try not to get too personally involved. Most of my patients are newborns and most of them have parents and others to care about them. The ones who don't are the ones I really care about.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

Definately both. I'd prefer to give a little too much of myself than too little.

.......

But that does not prevent me from giving my ALL in their care. And by that I mean of my time, my energy, my knowlege, skills..AND my emotional involvement while they are in my care. If my heart's not in it, I can't function in this profession. And by "heart" I mean emotional caring.. caring ABOUT.

There is a balance. Sooner or later we all find it. For me, I find I do a much better job of caring FOR.. .. FAR better.. when I allow myself to care ABOUT.

Wonderful post, Jnette :)

[KrisRNwannabe]

definetly care for. I dont know how long I could do this job if I cared about every single one. it would be very heartbreaking when they were gone.

[lpn1313]

Definitely both- I work in LTC and see the same 25 people every day. For some of them, the staff are the only family they have. Yes, it's hard when someone dies. But I try to focus on the good things, like how they get both the caring for at the best of my abilities and the caring about by being there for them. I guess I think of my residents as 25 extra grandparents... it makes for one heck of an interesting family :chuckle