Introduction

            This semester provided a lot of different experiences to open our eyes up to what it means to take care of a patient. I have been a Licensed Nursing Assistant in New Hampshire for 3 years now, which has exposed me to many different families and many different nurses. This also means that I have also been able to see many different ways in which health care workers provided care. People tend to think that compassionate and empathetic care is the same, but they are different things that influence patient care. Compassionate care is a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress combined with a desire to alleviate it. Empathetic care is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to and experiencing the feelings through the patient.

Clinical Event

            I provided compassionate care to one of my patients’ this semester during my NSG 307 clinical. This patient was previously independent in their house hold with their wife and was running their own business. They endured a stroke and had left-sided hemiplegia and required maximum assistance. Before their admission to NERH, they described themselves as a person who never liked to ask for help and so it was hard for them being in that situation where they were dependent on others. This was something that I could understand because I also have trouble asking others for help. Because of this, I made sure to go into the patient’s room frequently to ask if he needed anything and when he said no, I would joke with them about how I “really had nothing else to do”, which would then make it easier for them to say what it was they really needed. Towards the end of the day, I noticed that it was getting easier for the patient to tell me when they needed something, whether it was for something to drink or to go to the bathroom.

            Throughout the day we had conversations about the patient mobility and how it has improved, but they still did not think that they were improving. At the end of the day, I went to say goodbye and see if there was anything else, I could do for them. The patient then started to talk about how they felt like they weren’t getting any better and how it was discouraging to them. I then brought a chair up next to the bed and sat down to just listen to them. Finally, I expressed to them about how I could understand how hard it was for them to be in this position, and how hard it was for them to think they are improving when they know for themselves what they were able to do before their stroke. We as the caregiver had no idea about his life before this and so we were able to see their progression from the beginning of their stay. I still reminded the patient that they were indeed getting better with gaining strength, swallowing ability and even their speech. Before I left, I asked if there was one final thing I could do for them and they said no, but that they really appreciated the fact that I had taken the time to sit and listen and actually see through the patients eyes about how they felt and how they were thinking about this transition because not a lot of people had.

Empathy vs Compassion

           Jean Watson’s carative factors are ways to provide a connection with the patient, resulting in the satisfaction of certain human needs. One of the carative factors is the “provision for a supportive, protective, and/or corrective mental, physical, sociocultural, and spiritual environment”. This means that as the nurse you are creating an environment that contributes to the healing of the patients physical and spiritual being while respecting and maintaining their dignity. This is considered compassionate care because you are caring for the actual patient’s well-being and their internal needs instead of just making sure they are healthy physically. Another carative factor is the “assistance with gratification of human needs”. This is proving care by assisting with the basic physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient. It can be done by respecting the need for privacy, involving family or significant other and respecting a patient’s unique individual needs. When talking about empathetic care and the carative factors, the other factor that comes to mind is the “promotion and acceptance of the expression of positive and negative feelings”. This allows the patient to be able to freely express their thoughts and concerns to the nurse without feeling like they need to hold things in. As a nurse you can do this by actively listening to the patient and encouraging reflection and acknowledging the fact that healing for the patient is their own internal doing (Watson, 2008). These make a difference in client outcomes because these make it so that the care that is being given to the patient is care that is centered around the well-being and personal thoughts of the patient. When you can give this care as a nurse, you are able to give care that is meaningful and isn’t only about the medical part.

Self- Assessment

            My role in the clinical event was being able to provide a safe place where my patient was able to express their feelings, whether they were negative or positive. In this case, my patient was expressing negative feelings about their recovery and their progression. To improve my response in the future I could further ask about why the patient believes they aren’t getting better. I could also encourage the patient to think of different ways that they could improve within their own thoughts of their recovery.

References

Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring, Boulder: University Press of Colorado.