Most likely, if someone is seeing the doctor, it doesn’t speak of wellness. An illness is at a stressing point and they would like to find a solution and move towards feeling well again. Not only that, but some people may find themselves in a medical situation and are alone, scared or sad.
In addition to the medical aspect of the visit, with the measurements and tests, there also needs to be a side that exhibits empathy and compassion. That first contact is with the nurse practitioner.
While you might not know it, when it comes to health care and getting better, nurse practitioners are the first line of defense. They get the information as to what is ailing you and make sure the doctor understands your symptoms before they even walk in the room.
The Importance of Bedside Manner
So, you’re not feeling too well. You’ve been dragging yourself into work or school all week. You’ve barely had enough energy to get through the day and you have headaches. Perhaps nausea or a fever. It’s time to go in. When you get there, you want to talk to someone who is compassionate. You’re already not feeling well and probably a little short on patience. Is someone rushed or snappy going to make things any better?
The nurse practitioner makes a big difference in setting the tone of communication. Showing empathy, compassion and understanding improves the comfort level, which helps the patient feel more at ease and more likely to share more information that could help in the diagnoses.
Nurse Practitioners: A Little Goes a Long Way
- Listening: Good bedside manners means not interrupting. The patient gets to tell the whole story from beginning to end. Nurse practitioners with good bedside manners ask the questions to fill in the blanks afterward.
- Educational: In order to make good decisions about your health, you need to learn about all of your treatment options and side effects. Good bedside manners include education and expert advice from the nurse practitioner.
- Follow up: A simple act of showing care and letting the patient know that their recovery and treatment plan is important only builds more trust between patient and provider.
Starting Out on the Right Foot
Having a nurse practitioner that has a good bedside manner with you is important, but it is paramount when it comes to pediatric patients. Often times, having a good bedside manner with children is an important key to finding solutions, as children will talk more to people they trust…and to people that you trust, too.
Head over to Pediatric Healthcare who pride themselves on having an experienced and compassionate team. Give them a call at 281- 655-1500 in the Houston area or 936- 539-8190 in the Woodlands/Conroe area.
