The nursing school I attend has earned acclaim as one of the few programs in the USA to teach the Modeling and Role Modeling theory as a basis for nursing practice, emphasizing a holistic approach to health care. When I graduate I will be eligible to sit for the holistic nursing certificate. One of the things that we do at my school is to use the word “client” instead of “patient” for reasons being that:
A patient is one who is given aid instruction, and treatment with the expectation that such services are appropriate and that the recipient will accept them and comply with the plan
A client is one who is considered to be a legitimate member of the decision-making team, who always has some control over the planned regimen, and who id incorporated into the planning and implementation of his or her own care as much as possible.
I was just wondering what other schools use the term client as well as RNs. Those who use the term ‘patient’ would you consider using the term ‘client’ instead? Why or why not?
ALWAYS Patient! I went to nursing school at the point where they had just made the changeover. There is too much focus on the business aspect of healthcare as it is...I don't need any further reminders of the business side of healthcare. I went to nursing school to take care of people...not to run a business. I do make sure that I am conscious of the business part (otherwise we would all be out of jobs), I will always refer to patients as patients....not clients.
I know this is a little off topic but what gets me going is when staff refers to the patient/client/resident as a room number!
I had an LPN student come up to me and say, “can you tell me what you know about 353? I said sure… it is a square room, has 2 very nice windows, a great view, and it has a bathroom in it.
She just kinda looked at me. I said, the first rule in nursing IMHO is that the person has a name. To call them by a room number is not acceptable.
Regarless of what we call them they will always be involved in the decision making process because it is their right.
Using client vs. patient doesn't seem like evidence based practice. I would be willing to bet that the people I care for at my hospital would feel better about the services and care I provide if I refered to them as my patient.
Client, like others have said, implies the bond/relationship can be broken. It doesn't inspire trust.
Good grief!
Patient, implies they are under my protection and watchful eye.
Specializes in Telemetry, Med Surg, Pediatrics, ER.
I know this is a little off topic but what gets me going is when staff refers to the patient/client/resident as a room number!
I had an LPN student come up to me and say, "can you tell me what you know about 353? I said sure... it is a square room, has 2 very nice windows, a great view, and it has a bathroom in it.
She just kinda looked at me. I said, the first rule in nursing IMHO is that the person has a name. To call them by a room number is not acceptable.
I disagree with you. Yes, the patient in room 353 has a name, but broadcasting it can be a HIPPA violation.
As a person being treated I would like to be considered both:mad: The word patient sounds friendlier but also has a connotation of helpnessness associated with it, like someone who should submit unhesitatingly to the doctor/nurses' authority. Remember the times patients did not have access to their own medical records b/c it was felt that would give too much info to the 'uneducated' patient & may even enable him or her make independent decisions or question/challenge the doctor's wisdom! That was too much patient & not enough client. Client sounds too cold, true, but it also connotes the person undergoing treatment has specific rights pertaining to his/her body. Just my feelings from the other side...I'm sure many others feel differently...
A little old lady bent my ear and told me "lawyers have clients, I am your patient." She told me this when my instructor said client in front of the patient. 5 years later...I have NEVER called a patient "client" and make it point to tell any nurse a/o nursing student the story...and I say it loud so the instructor will hear it!!
I disagree with you. Yes, the patient in room 353 has a name, but broadcasting it can be a HIPPA violation.
Broadcasting is completely different than speaking with a fellow healthcare colleague to discuss what we can do to better manage their care. Which is fully allowed with HIPAA. I find it rather depersonalizing when people talk about numbers and not people... I am probably in the minority with this. I just have seen it where HCW feel more free to voice negative things to a room number than if they were to think of the person inside the room.
But I think this discussion would be a different post.
When I was doing clinicals in a hospital it's Patient
When i was doing clinicals in a psych facility it's Client
When working in LTC it's Resident
I think psych may be the one place where it is actually used. Psych tx was so authoritarian for many years the forgoing of the term "patient" makes sense. And it works nicely with the concept of a therapeutic community.
In my experience working with the mentally and physically disabled - client is the term used by that work in residential settings.
Using the person's name strikes me as a good option.
At the big, famous, research oriented nursing school where I will begin my nursing studies next next month they seem to like "client." We will see what happens in clinicals....
until there is a "do it yourself" appendectomy kit, and you are able to assess yourself accurately, call the doc, obtain orders, implement and monitor both nursing and medical interventions successfully "YOU ARE MY PATIENT".
As far as the sub-acute/ltc/alf residents I work with....I do refer to them as our residents. However, especially with aging in place....seeing
that they maintain their personal, optimal, medical level of well being and working to stave off deterioration secondary to pathophysiology of disease processes, they are also my patients.
I know this is a little off topic but what gets me going is when staff refers to the patient/client/resident as a room number!
I had an LPN student come up to me and say, "can you tell me what you know about 353? I said sure... it is a square room, has 2 very nice windows, a great view, and it has a bathroom in it.
She just kinda looked at me. I said, the first rule in nursing IMHO is that the person has a name. To call them by a room number is not acceptable.
OH !!!!! One of my pet peeves too! Along with "the cancer in 315", they are not their dx nor should they be defined by a disease!!!
This may actually be better in it's own thread,..but,.my 2 cents,..I do understand the focus of wanting pt's (yes,.they are my patients!) being involved in their care. I agree that pt's should ask questions and be as informed as possible. I do however think we need to remember that most of our pt's have very little medical knowledge/experience. Most haven't been to nursing school or medical school. Many haven't even had a college level biology course. When these people find themselves in a situation of needing medical care,.now,..it is up to us to try to explain the disease process, and the recommened treatment in a way they can understand.
I think it's unreasonable to expect a pt after a 15 minute discussion to feel completely "informed". Did it take only 15 minutes for us to learn about DM, or an MI? Did it take only 15 minutes for us to learn the anatomy and function of the heart?
While I agree that pt involvement is important,.pt's have to place a lot of trust in their caregivers. They have to,..there is no other option. It's very frustrating for me as a caregiver to have a pt insist on this medication or that test because "that's what my neighbor did when she had belly pain" or "when I looked it up online they said...". If it was as easy as checking with the neighbors or doing a quick google search we would all be out of a job!!
While pt input is important,...my PATIENTS are under my care,..and I need to give as much information and resources as I can in the limited time I'm alloted. I think it's unreasonable for pts to believe that after a qiuck chat with the Dr/google/aunt Mary that they are qualified to dictate their care. Isn't that why they come to us in the first place, because we are the ones with the education and experience to help? I'm amazed at people who would never second quess their mechanic or electrician, show up at the hospital and demand "an ultrasound and an MRI now"!
off my soap box,...really do love my job and my patients!
and my patients!
TX_ICU_RN
121 Posts
ALWAYS Patient! I went to nursing school at the point where they had just made the changeover. There is too much focus on the business aspect of healthcare as it is...I don't need any further reminders of the business side of healthcare. I went to nursing school to take care of people...not to run a business. I do make sure that I am conscious of the business part (otherwise we would all be out of jobs), I will always refer to patients as patients....not clients.