Published
That's a great question and I like your answer. Drawing the line in nurse-patient relationships is a difficult one for many. For a nurse who takes care of the same patient for months or years, a friendship is very likely to form.
One concern I have related to caring is that I rarely have tons of time to spend with patients and families, especially since I'm a relatively new nurse, so I'm not a time management pro yet. Sometimes I feel rushed just to meet all of the physical needs, much less to sit down and have much of a caring dialogue.
Do not forget too that what is seen as "care" can be different by different people.
I.E. the Prima donna Drama Queen screaming about a nearly invisible paper cut may feel that we are uncaring when we tell her that sticking her pinky in her mouth would do her more good than waiting 6 hours in an emergency room full of people with the flu.
There are those who equate "care" with "someone to do everything for me" whereas "care" in a therapuetic sense truly means giving the patient what they NEED and not what they want.
This is actually one essence of the problem - therapuetic care versus what the public sees as the nurses role.
HM2VikingRN, RN
4,700 Posts
from my nursing foundations class.....