Healthcare professionals are expected to have the necessary skills to efficiently and expertly give proper patient care. This is why they are required to undergo rigorous academic and practical training as well as pass the necessary certification and/or licensure examinations before they can practice what they’ve trained for. But aside from doing evidence-based practices and providing clinical expertise, healthcare professionals also need to extend care and compassion to patients to ensure that patient-centered care is consistently carried out.
We tackle how healthcare professionals — including RNs, LPNs, CNAs, HHAs, and allied health professionals — can offer supportive care to individuals going through challenging medical journeys.
Care and compassion in healthcare: Important patient care tips
Take the time to understand your patients and where they’re coming from
More often than not, patients who act out and are tagged as “difficult” are individuals who are exhausted, fearful, not fully understanding what’s happening with their bodies, and are in pain. Some patients may even have had previous bad experiences in hospitals or have already been through numerous hospital visits, which may affect how challenging or aggressive they are.
Take the time to understand where your patients are coming from. Always practice empathy when you take their patient history and ask them about what their chief complaints are. For example, it’s possible for patients who have chronic pain or have a substance misuse background not to be the friendliest or most cooperative. In these situations, arming yourself with enough patient information can help you navigate difficult situations without taking things personally.
Listen actively (and patiently)
Active listening — which involves intently listening to someone, understanding and reflecting on what’s being said, responding thoughtfully, and retaining information — is an integral part of patient-centered care. Active listening also includes being aware of body language and nonverbal cues. Nodding, maintaining eye contact, and avoiding looking at your phone or other gadgets when talking to patients are important aspects of active listening.
Active listening helps patients feel heard, validated, and understood — and when patients feel this, healthcare professionals can gain their trust, which can lead to reduced miscommunications and misunderstandings. Poor listening practices can, after all, result in errors, poor patient outcomes, and costly mistakes.
Being patient is crucial when listening actively to patients. Don’t interrupt patients when they’re speaking or try to finish their sentences or thoughts for them. Remember to listen to understand and not to respond or judge.
Support your patients’ emotional well-being
When providing supportive care to patients, it’s important to prioritize their emotional well-being, especially during challenging and life-changing situations. Take the time to calmly speak with your patients and discover what kind of support they need — a listening ear, for their expectations to be properly set, or a shoulder to cry on. When patients become overwhelmed and cry, show empathy by offering to hold their hand or when consent is given, hugging them, talking to them, and listening to their thoughts. Healthcare professionals are responsible for supporting patients’ emotional well-being by understanding and acknowledging their feelings and experiences.
Even though some might think that spending time to communicate with patients can interfere with healthcare professionals’ hectic schedules and interrupt their workflow, doing so can enhance connections and improve patient care, which can lead to patients being more participative or cooperative with their treatments.
Take care of yourself to reduce the risk of compassion fatigue
The adage “you cannot give what you don’t have” rings true for healthcare professionals. To have empathy and compassion for others, you must always have healthy reserves of empathy and compassion.
Healthcare professionals are constantly exposed to grief, sadness, and trauma, which can lead to compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue typically affects professionals who extend help to those in need. When exposed to trauma for an extended period, they might overuse their empathy and compassion skills and end up feeling helpless and hopeless. Healthcare professionals must recognize its signs and symptoms to prevent compassion fatigue or seek help to counter it.
