how to talk to patients

[Training2bRN]

it's very hard to understand how a patient feels, when you've never been hospitalized or seriously ill. i try to joke around with the patients, but i think i am inadvertently insulting them. for instance, one patient can't speak well due to paralysis. he was trying to tell us that he wanted a shave. but i thought he wanted a beer! so i teased him afterwards, saying "i was planning on sneaking in a beer for you next week!" my classmates all laughed at my joke. but then i thought afterwards ... wow, i just made fun of this man's inability to communicate, even though that was not my intention at all.

so i am thinking that it's best to not joke at all with the patients until i have a better understanding of how they feel being in the hospital and all.

i know that if i was paralyzed, and bed-ridden, i would like humor. but i think most patients are grieving, and not in the mood for jokes.

[lunden]

u usually will have a feel 4 who will joke and who won't

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I usually remain straight-laced with my patients, and stick with very general statements such as "How are you doing today?" If certain patients begin cracking jokes, then I'll know that these are the ones who will not take offense to different senses of humor.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

you don't have to have been hospitalized to have empathy for other people or be a good listener. humor can be a good stress reliever with some patients. i did have to take a communications class as a pre-requisite for my bsn program and it was quite interesting. this class was a pre-requisite for others who were going into communication and counseling majors. we had to attend a weekly lab where we role-played scenarios in which there were confrontations with people who were angry over being mistreated, yelled at--that kind sort of thing. we had a lot of fun, but on a serious note, learned about sympathetic listening and assertiveness skills. people who go into radio and tv journalism take these kinds of classes. and, psychology and sociology majors who end up doing counseling really focus on therapeutic communication skills big time. we had to read games people play: the basic handbook of transactional analysis by eric berne, m.d. in my class on group behavior which was required in my bsn program. it followed classes like psychology, sociology and human development. here is a post that has weblinks to sites on therapeutic communication and assertiveness. copy what you can because you may need this information for your class in psych nursing, but the information will be invaluable to you. just so you know, it took me years to hone these skills. they are not learned and perfected with one reading.

• https://allnurses.com/forums/2489678-post39.html

my best wishes to you. since my forced retirement from nursing i've been a hospital patient a few times. some of the people who have been my caregivers needed to read and practice the information on these websites.

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

I usually am friendly and general, until you get a sense of if they will joke or not. Some patients have just gotten bad news, or they're having pain...etc. I think you understand now what bad taste your joke may have been. unless the pt is smiling or joking back to you..don't. Be professional and friendly at all times.

[RNMom2010]

Yeah I have a problem with joking with my pts and using humor. The vast majority enjoy my upbeat attitude, but when I run into a pt that doesnt enjoy humor I dont know how to communicate with them without insulting them. I have been trying to just merely be professional with these pts, but it comes across as cold and generic.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

Yeah I have a problem with joking with my pts and using humor. The vast majority enjoy my upbeat attitude, but when I run into a pt that doesnt enjoy humor I dont know how to communicate with them without insulting them. I have been trying to just merely be professional with these pts, but it comes across as cold and generic.

No, it's cold and generic to you, not them. Some people are just naturally reserved, so respect that.

:)

[NurseAlwaysNForever]

The thing with being a nurse is that you have to learn to be a chameleon of sorts. You have to be able to adapt to any situation. With time and experience you will learn what will benefit each patient.

Upon entering one of my patients homes I say, "How are you doing old man?" He replies, "Not too shabby for an old geezer." We both laugh. I sit down on the floor next to his recliner and do my assessment and we joke and kid through out the whole thing. I have another patient that I come in and say, "Hi Mrs. So and So, How are you today?" She responds, "Okay, I suppose." During this assessment I am much more professional.

Different patients have different expectations and as a nurse you have to be able to provide them with the type of service they would want. You will learn how to "feel" out the situation and will be able to go from there in time. For me this is easier because I see some of my patients every two weeks for extended lengths of time. Good luck.

[whoofers]

You cannot treat all patients the same way, just as you cannot treat all your coworkers the same. The key is to first look and listen, then adapt your interaction to the individual. If you start by introducing yourself and stating the reason you are there, the response will guide you. Some people need humor, some need a hand to hold, others need the facts and information and still others just need to be left alone. There are no clear cut answers to your question. You will just have to learn as you go or take a class in interpersonal communication.