by Valarie Juntunen

Created on: September 01, 2009

Bedside manner is a skill many nurses take for granted, yet like any other skill it requires development. Overtime your ability to connect with your patients will change and evolve. Sometimes these changes are for the better but at other times stress, various emotional states, and complacency may negatively affect these skills. Therefore, it is important to evaluate your patient interactions, not only during your years as a nursing student, but throughout your career.

The most important assessment of bedside manner is performed not by the nurse but by the patient. Your patient may not blatantly give their critique but there are a multitude of signs that can clue you into whether or not your bedside manner needs more work.

* Do your patient's facial features relax over the course of your interaction with them? Often we expect to see an immediate smile plastered on our patient's faces in response to our mere presence. This is unrealistic! What we should be seeing is a gradual relaxation. Stress, pain and depression features should begin to relax as we reach out and support our patients through our interactions with them.

* How often do you get questions from your patients? People invariably fear looking dumb, especially around those that may judge them. For this reason, asking questions is often a form of trust. Patients will typically only ask questions of health care professionals that make them feel comfortable.

* What emotional reactions do you perceive most often around your patients? Anger, frustration, embarrassment and fear are all clear signs that our bedside manner is not what it should be. However, more subtle signs may include flat affects or strained jocularity and happiness. Patients that are uncomfortable will often try to hide their true emotions by keeping their facial features stony, cracking jokes, or masking their face with a smile. A good bedside manner results in patients being able to truly express their emotions. Therefore you want to see a wide range of emotions being expressed by your patients in general.

Another good way to assess your bedside manner is to ask your supervisor, fellow nurses, and other nursing staff members for their critiques. Remember that nurse-aids often have the best bedside manners of all hospital staff. Choose co-workers that exemplify the quality of bedside manner about which you are concerned. This is particularly helpful if you find that there is a certain grouping of patients that you seem to have difficulty

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