Dialogues with Nursing Patients

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the only way that nurses will learn about patients' needs and concerns is to really listen and to communicate well. The author points out that the purpose of the dialogues described in the paper was to identify or express the concerns of a patient with tachycardia, a breast cancer patient and a person with chronic abdominal pain. The paper stresses that the better the nurse's communication skills, the higher will be the quality of care that she or he provides. The author underscores that the most important point learned from these dialogues is the importance of the patient's perspective. The paper suggest that open-ended questions, going with the flow, patients' use of certain words or sentences and attentive listening are essential to a successful patient-nurse dialogue.

From the Paper:

"I made other errors with Mrs. K, but they became a learning experience for the next two dialogues. For instance, I interrupted Mrs. K at times to respond to her. The most valuable lesson from Dialogue 1 was that we can remain true to the original intent by asking open-ended questions. The whole direction of the communication can be guided with open-ended questions. At the same time, there were blocks to effective communication because I began with a closed question. When Mrs. K stated that she felt she was becoming paralyzed, that statement needs to be explored with a great deal of empathy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beitel, J. (1998). Illuminations. Newsletter of the International Consortium of Parse Scholars, 7 (3), 3-5.
• Messner, R.L. (1993). What patients really want from their nurses. American Journal of Nursing, In NURS 4130 Course Kit, 38-41.
• Mitchell, G.J. (1996). A reflective moment with false cheerfulness. Nursing Science Quarterly, 9 (2), 53-54.
• Nichols, C. (2001). The lost art of listening: How learning to listen can improve your relationships. London: Cuilford Press.
• Spee, C. (2001). A dialogue with your patient. Canadian Nurse, 97 (5), 19-22.

More papers on Dialogues with Nursing Patients:

• Essay # 88495 : "Dialogues for Nurses"
• Article Review # 99946 : "Communication in Nursing"
• Essay # 137767 : "Critical reflection on dialogues"

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