Nora therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is cultural consideration - Essay Example

Nora Therapeutic Nurse-Patient Relationship is a Cultural Consideration The therapeutic relationship between a patient and a nurse is an important determinant of the health related outcomes for the patient. Since patients spend a significant amount of time in interacting with nurses during the process of attaining health care, the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship has a significant impact on the patient’s mental and physical well being (Gamez, 2009). Thus, the goal of any nurse patient interaction should be to improve the patient’s quality of life by either enabling the patients to adapt to their current health status or to assist them in restoring their prior normal health status (Gamez, 2009).

There are several determinants of the therapeutic relationship between a nurse and the patient. In the case of Nora, the most important determinants of the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship would be cultural considerations and the nature of the nurse-patient rapport, which is dependent on effective communication. Communication between the nurse and the patients facilitates the transfer of information, concerns, queries and expectations between the two parties. If knowledge regarding the disease course, the treatment modalities available, and the post-hospitalization course is transferred effectively to the patient, it can result in greater patient satisfaction as the patient is well informed about what to expect (McQueen, 2000).

Moreover, it also enables the patients to develop their trust in the nurses and helps in mitigating any existing anxiety or stress on the part of the patient (Kirk, 2007). Such communication can be achieved if the nurses posses effective communication skills, such as displaying empathy, active listening and use of non-verbal gestures in order to make the patient comfortable and to establish a good rapport (Jasmine, 2009; Chant, Jenkinson, Randle, & Russell, 2002). In order to establish healthy therapeutic nurse-patient relationships, another important responsibility of the nurses is to be culturally competent and to adapt a transcultural approach for care provision to individuals belonging to culturally diverse backgrounds, such as Nora (Leininger, 1995; Watts & Carlson, 2002).

The nurses should have ample knowledge regarding the aboriginal history and cultural beliefs, customs and practices of the patients and should provide solutions which are culturally sensitive and conform to the patients’ cultural requirements and expectations (Pasco, Morse, & Olson, 2004). For example, the perception of pain and the pain threshold may differ amongst people from different cultural backgrounds and this should be kept in mind while evaluating a patient and administering treatment as this can lead to misdiagnosis and improper treatment which can be hazardous for the patient (Fenwick, 2006).

Moreover, the nurses should also take measures to avoid miscommunication arising due to the cultural and language barriers. Nurses should be well versed in the language of the patients they most frequently come in contact with and in the case of minorities, they should ensure the availability of an interpreter in order to facilitate the dialogue (Roberts, Irvine, Jones, Spencer, Baker, & Williams, 2007). References Chant, S., Jenkinson, T., Randle, J., & Russell, G. (2002). Comunicaiton skills: Some problems in nursing education and practice.

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Nursing Philosophy , 233–234. Leininger, M. M., (1995). Transcultural nursing: Concepts, theories, research, and practice. (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. McQueen, A. (2000). Nurse-patient relationships and partnership in hospital care. Journal of Clinical Nursing , 723-731. Pasco, A. C., Morse, J. M., & Olson, J. K. (2004). Cross-Cultural Relationships Between Nurses and Filipino Canadian Patients. Journal of Nursing Scholarship , 239-246. Roberts, G. W., Irvine, F. E., Jones, P. R., Spencer, L. H., Baker, C. R., & Williams, C. (2007). Language awareness in the bilingual healthcare setting: A national survey.

International Journal of Nursing Studies , 1177–1186. Watts, E., & Carlson, G. (2002). Practical strategies for working with indigenous people living in Queensland, Australia. Occupational Therapy International , 277–293.