What does patient care mean to you?

[*jojo*]

]My sister-in-law had to interview a nurse for a school project and (chose me). She had to develop 6 thought provoking questions on her own and one of the questions was - what does patient care mean to you? - For me patient care involves ]all aspects of the person - physical, emotional, spiritual, psychosocial, etc. It means comforting them when they need to be comforted, being an advocate, a good listener, a teacher, an encourager, and help them achieve their goals for recovery. I am sure I left some things out that I said and even more that I meant to say but I thought she did an awesome job coming up with her questions because they really did get me thinking!

Anyway, I would love to hear what patient care means to others nurses out there, so please share!

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

I was thinking all of the above things that you mentioned. And you did it much more eloquently than I would have. But you did leave out one very important thing.

Scientist, detective, traffic director

We watch them, assess them, pick up on new needs, administer meds and treatments, assess whether treatments and meds are working for or against pt, coordinate care with x-ray, scans, resp therapy, physical therapy.

Sadly, I think too many of us forget the very important technical aspect of our job, the extensive training we have in the human body, meds. Patients lives are in our hands every shift, and if we miss something the patient can have a very bad outcome

[nurse1219]

to me patient care means being there for a patient when they are most vulnerable. You are there for a patient when they are scared, happy, nervous, confused, and stressed.

You offer support and courage as well as medical care.

To me patient care means knowing once I leave the hospital, whether all I did was wipe sweat off a patients head or give CPR, I made a difference in their life during a difficult time. I think as nurses we are lucky to be able to provide care and anyone would be lucky to do what we do. Our job comes with alot of stress, and we are special people who take on this task and enjoy it.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

Care can be an emotion, caring about the patients situation, and care can be an action, what we do about the patients situation.