Building a Good Professional Relationship with Patients - Assignment Example

Interview with Client (Social Work Class) Introduction: Building a good professional relationship with clients in order to help them throughout their treatment is mandatory for all social workers. The best way in which a good rapport can be built up with clients, besides accumulating essential information about them is by conducting a personal helping interview with them. This assignment focuses on the individual helping interview conducted by the author with a client belonging to the agency of DaVita United Dialysis Center, Long Beach. It effectively showcases the author’s skills in maintaining a professional relationship, conducting interviews, and recording the content of interactions with patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases. The assignment discusses in detail the interview, as well as the preparations or points borne in mind by the author in order to conduct the interview as smoothly and relevant as possible. This document also addresses the various problems that arise during an interview and how they can be effectively dealt with. The Interview: Patient Details and Information: 1. Information about Interviewee: Gender: Female Age: 47 years Ethnicity: Hispanic American Description: Patient looked pale and sick. Despite the paleness of her skin which indicated her suffering, she was quite alert and attentive. She exhibited signs of nervousness and discomfort when first approached. However, she calmed down and talked normally with passing time. 2. Nature of the Interview Setting and Effect on the Interview Conducted: The setting of the interview was chosen with care to ensure complete privacy and keep it free from any interruptions or distractions. The interview was conducted in the private room of the patient, free from all outside distractions. The private room of the patient was chosen so that the patient would feel at ease and comfortable when discussing about her health problems and revealing personal information to the interviewer. The interview setting was ideal as it helped in achieving the goal for which it was chosen. Free from all disturbances, the patient felt secure and relaxed, and soon, discussed about personal preferences, besides revealing other essential information after sometime in the course of the interview. 3. Process Recording of the Interview: The process recording of the interview discusses and records the content, non-verbal and behavioral interaction between interviewer and patient, as well as the interviewer’s analysis of the interview. This recording helps in objectively determining where the techniques of interviewing were applied properly and if any part of the interview did not go well. It gives us an accurate picture of the whole interview. Content of the Interview [Interaction between Interviewer and Patient] Non-verbal and behavioral Interaction between Interviewer and Patient 1. Interviewer: so, shall we start? Patient looks depressed and gives a despairing glance. She does not reply immediately, but makes the interviewer wait for a minute or two before replying. 2. Patient: OK! Patient replies, but the tone is not very enthusiastic. She stares, seeming to observe critically the interviewer. I give a reassuring smile. 3. Interviewer: Ms [name] please do not worry. This is an important and confidential discussion that we will have about your problems and anything that is bothering you which will help you in adjusting better to your changing lifestyle. You can feel free to discuss anything with me, as I will make sure that you do get everything you want during your stay here. If you don’t want the interview now, I can come back later too. Patient listens attentively, and seems to take in the words and the interviewer’s relaxed pose and frank discussion. She gives a weak smile. 4. Patient: It’s OK! I take in the invitation and pose the first important question. 5. Interviewer: Please tell me something about yourself and your life. Patient remains quiet, seems to take in the question. I wait with a reassuring smile on my face. She answers the question after a minute. 6. Patient: I live with my husband and children. I do not work outside but work inside. All day, I work for my family. One day, I saw the symptoms like swelling in legs, feeling cold, energy changes and many other things, and my husband made me do the tests. It is very hard coping up. I wonder whether I will come out of it. She trails into silence with desperation written on her face. I nod my head and continue. 7. Interviewer: I can understand how difficult it must have been for you. Such symptoms often come in the way of our day to day activities and cause problems. The patient looks at the interviewer more directly now and nods her head appreciatively. 8. Patient: Yes, it was very difficult coping up. I do not know what I would do without my family. I will miss them and they will miss me very much. The patient turns to look at the interviewer. Her body movements have started and she seems to be relaxing gradually. I nod my head and listen intently to her talk. 9. Interviewer: It is wonderful that you have a good family support. That makes things easier. 10. Patient: Yes, it does! Patient is slight cheerful, her moodiness disappearing when she thinks of her family. 11. Interviewer: Have you received all medical information? Patient looks doubtful. I try to be clearer. 12. Interviewer: many patients do not understand properly about their kidney diseases and the treatment that they want to have. Are you aware of everything related to your problem or do you have any doubts? Patient brow is cleared. She understands my words this time. 13. Patient: No, I understand. I do not have much information about dialysis. And truth is I am frightened of it. Patient is afraid. Her eyes are big with fear and she waits for my reply. I smile reassuringly. 14. Interviewer: Please do not worry about your disease and put away your apprehensions. I will supply you with essential information that will clear all your doubts away. Patient is relieved. I smile and she returns the smile. 15. Interviewer: Do you have any more questions to ask? Patient nods her head. 16. Patient: There is one more problem. I do not have any medical insurance. What should I do about it? I pat her hand. She is assured and her face relaxes. 17. Interviewer: Please do not worry. There are a number of insurance and health funding institutes who would be a great help to you. I will be do the necessary enquiries and let you know about them all. Is it OK? Patient is completely free now. She smiles and she adjusts herself into a more comfortable position. She nods to my question. 18. Interviewer: That is all for now. Please remember, I am here to assist you throughout your stay here and will be by your side to help you cope up with all your problems. You will be completely safe and secure here and I am sure you will deal everything very effectively. Patient smiles and nods believingly. 4. Summary of the Interview: The interview was conducted after the patient gave the approval to conduct the interview. The interviewer could sense that the patient was suffering from depression and was not too eager to talk. However, only after ascertaining her approval, the interviewer started. The interviewer made the purpose of the interview clear and asked the patient to discuss anything, as the aim of the interviewer remained to record everything and help the patient to cope up with any pressing problems. The initial discussion was started by the interviewer who asked the patient about her life in general. The patient started with her family and then proceeded to her symptoms and problems. This gave the clue to a strong family support that they patient had and the interviewer talked about the importance of having a family support to gain the confidence of the patient. The interviewer acknowledged the problems which are caused by the symptoms of kidney diseases. The interviewer asked the patient about her knowledge of the disease. On realizing that the patient had no clear knowledge of dialysis, the interviewer assured the patient and asked her not to worry. The interviewer also assured that all essential information would be supplied to the patient very soon. The interviewer invited the patient to ask questions too, upon which the patient immediately took up the insurance problem which was bothering her. The interviewer consoled her and told her that there were numerous financial institutes which would help her in solving her funding problems. The patient was completely relaxed and much more cheerful than before. The interviewer also assured the patient that the interviewer would be there to help the patient throughout her treatment in the unit. Problems, Preparation and Discussion: 5. Stated Problem of Client: The stated problem of the client included a description of the numerous symptoms which interfered with her normal activities and led her to seek medical aid. The symptoms as described by her make her a part of the group of patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases who have to undergo either dialysis or a complete transplant, as their condition demands. 6. Nature of the Problem: An analysis of the interview with the client revealed that besides the symptoms of energy level changes, swelling in legs, feeling cold, and others, which have made her seek treatment, she also suffers from emotional tension due to financial difficulties, interruption in her work, and daily activities. She also suffers from high degree of anxiety due to lack of knowledge about the procedure of dialysis and fears from having to adapt or making huge adjustments. Besides the aforementioned factors, the patient also exhibits psychological problems as evident from her depressive spirit and lack of belief to be cured. Therefore, on the whole, the client suffers from emotional tensions, financial worries, psychological problems, as well as physical ailments which account for chronic kidney disease symptoms. 7. Preliminary Contract for Interview: The preliminary contract for interview with the patient was done prior to the actual interview. The patient was given an introduction and the process of the interview with its purpose was explained to her in detail. Only after getting her consent, the interview was conducted. The instructions and the information which were provided and explained to her by the interviewer are as follows: Good morning, Ms [name of the patient], I come from the social work department. Could you please spare some minutes? I understand that being here may have raised many questions in your mind. And to answer your numerous questions and make you stay in this hospital more comfortable and stress-free, I need to know a little bit about yourself and your problems, if any. I shall be there for you at every step during your stay here, so you can talk and discuss about your problems freely with me. So, shall we proceed? 8. Preparation for the Interview: The Process of Making the Patient Comfortable: The process of making the patient comfortable was the first step taken as the interview began. A brief, yet clear description of the nature and purpose of the interaction was provided to the patient before the start of the interview. The interview was arranged in the patient’s personal room (allotted room) in complete privacy so that the patient would not feel out-of-place and be free from any outside interruption and disturbance. Besides the aforementioned measures, the patient was not flooded with questions from the very beginning of the interview, but gradually introduced into it, by allowing the patient to start discussing her problems out of her own free-will. By using the technique of listening attentively with warm words, the interviewer was able to make the patient comfortable. Principles or Values of Relationships Used: 1.1 exhibiting trust and mutual understanding by acting as a confidant, who would try to understand the patient’s perspective on different things and share her personal worries; 1.2 acting as a financial advisor by suggesting measures that would lessen financial burdens of the patient; 1.3 being an information supplier by providing essential information and discussing everything related to dialysis that would help the patient adjust to the changing life-style; 1.4 acting as an emotional supporter by building up the morale of the patient and helping the patient to adjust properly without any difficulties. Skills of Interview Used: The three main interview skills adopted by the interviewer include the following: 1.1 maintaining eye contact throughout the interview and providing enough gestures (such as nodding, besides others) to let the patient realize that the interviewer is attentive to the words of the patient; 1.2 encouraging the patient to talk freely, without interrupting in the middle of her speech and subtly leading the conversation to the main topic of discussion; 1.3 and listening to the patient and intermittently repeating some phrases of the patient to facilitate conversation freely, and writing the responses of the patient only after listening completely to her problems. 9. Obstacles and Solution: Obstacles that could have arisen include inadequate comprehension problems as the patient had slight problems in understanding English when spoken fast and it was little difficult to understand the accented language of the patient too. However, this problem did not come up as from the very beginning the interviewer listened more carefully and talked slowly with the patient to let her understand everything. The patient was also relaxed and in her natural self without any constraints and therefore, provided enough facial expressions and non-verbal actions which helped in getting her meaning across effectively. The patient’s restless attitude and depressive spirit coupled with the interviewer’s initial nervousness could have brought problems in the interview. However, the use of interview skills led the patient to relax and her speech became more spontaneous gradually. 10. Smooth Flow of the Interview: The smooth flow of the interview came after the interviewer made the patient understand that the interviewer understood her condition. By introducing and acknowledging that the patient had a strong family support, she entered into the discussion of the problems which were bothering the patient at that moment. 11. Limitation in the Interview and Improvement: The point where the interviewer felt that the interview was not going all right was at the beginning when the interviewer was at a loss at choosing words to carry on the interview after seeing the desperation in the patient’s voice. However, introduction of the family topic helped in making the patient cheerful and listening carefully to her talks made the interviewer proceed more confidently too. Read More