Standard 2 of NMBA
Discuss about the Therapeutic Professional Relationships Services.
The current assignment focuses upon the aspect of therapeutic communication in professional relationships. The therapeutic communication approaches belongs to the standard 2 of the Nursing and Midwifery board of Australia (NMBA). It consists of a number of sub points such as establishment of therapeutic relationship in a manner which helps to differentiate between personal and professional boundaries (nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2018). As per the standard 2 of NMBA, one should communicate in a manner which respects the dignity, value and culture of a person (Levett-Jones, Gersbach, Arthur & Roche, 2011). The standard also aims at providing direct support to people to help them with their decision making process. The implementation of the standard helps in respecting the legal capacity for a person (Clarke, Ells, Thombs & Clarke, 2017). It helps in fostering a culture of safety and establishes a person centred care approach. The therapeutic communication also provides one with the responsibility of reporting notifiable conduct of health professionals and health workers (Benbenishty & Hannink, 2017).
In the current study, the aspects of therapeutic communication approaches have been studied which forms and important component of nursing support and care. In the video, a conversation between a nurse and a patient has been highlighted. The patient had been admitted to the ward following which the nurse was sent to the patient to monitor or check for the vital signs of the patient. Form the video, it was seen that the nurse adopted a very friendly and cooperative communication approach with the patient. The communication went from professional to personal such as the point, where the patient enquired the nurse regarding some of the details such as the time for which the nurse had been working in the hospital. The patient seemed to be quite easy and free in his communication approaches with the nurse which depicted the signs of a healthy and positive therapeutic relationship (Duarte, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Cruz, 2016).
Therefore, the benefits of the application of therapeutic communication approaches within a professional setup have been evaluated through the assignment with the help of the Gibb’s reflection cycle. The use of models such as the Gibb’s reflection cycle helps one to focus upon professional practice standards.
The Gibb’s reflective cycle could be divided into a number of basic attributes such as- description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, and conclusion and action plan. Each of the steps could be related to the actual clinical scenario to understand the strengths and weaknesses of professional standards of practice. The different stages of the Gibbs’ reflective cycle could be related to the actual clinical scenario taken from the course video.
Therapeutic communication approach and professional relationships
Here, the nurse was sent to collect or gather information regarding the vital signs of the patient. The patient had been admitted to the hospital ward post a referral from the GP. Post the admission of the patient the nurse was appointed for monitoring some of the vital sign of the patient such as temperature and pulse. Therefore, after checking the vital signs of the patient such as temperature and pulse were found to be normal. Hence, the nurse left the patient there and asked his permission for reporting the same to the doctor (Wyder, Bland, Blythe, Matarasso & Crompton, 2015).
In my opinion , over here the nurse had followed the policy pertaining to informed practice, as per which the nurse will be providing the health details of the patient to the doctor based upon further treatment plan will be proceeded. However, I think the nurse should have also measured some of the other vital signs such as blood pressure which is also an important health parameter and gives a lot of knowledge regarding the health of the patient.
Therefore, as a nursing student the entire video session was a unique learning experience for me. I personally felt that it was a very engaging and effective way of learning nursing care and practices, as it helped the nursing student to analyse and understand the view presented by both the patient and the nurse.
The event made me understand the aspects of therapeutic communication approaches. I appreciated the easy exchange of communication and knowledge between the nurse and the patient. The therapeutic communication approaches fosters a healthy and effective professional relationship between the healthcare professionals and the patient (Wyder, Bland, Blythe, Matarasso & Crompton, 2015). In my opinion, the event would have a positive outcome as use of therapeutic communication approaches would make the patient feel free with the nursing professional and confide in him regarding any personal or health issues, which in turn facilitates the entire treatment process (Morera-Balaguer et al., 2018).
I think the entire learning event went well as the video course provided us with much food for thought as we got to think and elaborate more upon the aspects of therapeutic communication. I think the entire assessment went well where an effective and friendly care bond was seen to be established between the patient and the nurse. However, at times I felt that the nurse was a bit too professional in his approach or he could have tried to engage in some extra conversation with the patient inquiring him about his past medical history or whether the patient was taking any extra medicines. However, excepting the vital signs none of these extended details were considered by the attending nurse. The nurse also missed some of the vital other signs such as monitoring the blood pressure of the patient along with testing important parameters such as pupil dilation which gives a knowledge about the level of consciousness of the patient (Slatyer, Coventry, Twigg & Davis, 2016). As mentioned by Blais, Hayes, Kozier and Erb (2015), in the lack of such comprehensive health details, it becomes difficult for the health professional to follow up the treatment.
Gibbs’ Reflection Cycle and nursing practice standards
The therapeutic communication session between the nurse and the patient was addressed well where the nurse was seen to engage effectively with the patient (McCorquodale & Kinsella, 2015).
The patient responded proactively to the queries of the nursing professional which made the gathering and collection of necessary information easier.
In my opinion, the nurse lacked any extra detail regarding the event as such the entire length of time or duration for which the patient will be kept in the hospital. Additionally, the nurse was also not much informed regarding the evidence based approaches which would be followed up with the patient in due course of time.
The nurse attending to the patient over here lacked any further details regarding the course of treatment or the exact care plan which is to be followed with the patient. Hence, the nursing professional was not able to provide the relevant details to the patient and left saying that he will pass o the detail to the doctor. In my opinion, this could lead to a breach the policy of informed decision making.
Both the nurse and the patient contributed effectively and positively to the entire situation. I think both the patient and the healthcare professional engaged proactively with each other which made treatment and follow up easier.
Therefore, going through the video as a part of my nursing curriculum I have realised that therapeutic communication approaches are one of the most important objectives in dealing with the patient, as it helps to take into consideration both the physical and the psychological factors affecting the overall health and well being of the patient. Therefore, in order to develop my future skills as a nursing professional I need to learn the aspects of therapeutic communication well.
Therefore, in order to develop the skills for therapeutic communication I need to put myself in more real life situations or practical in-house session, where I can have an effective one to one conversation with the patient which will enhance my therapeutic communication skills. Additionally, to make the nursing care service delivery more effective, the detailed health status of the patient should be taken into consideration, as in the present case the nurse missed to check the blood pressure of the patient which could help in monitoring the orthostatic changes and falls within the vital signs monitoring list.
Therefore, the video learning course helped to understand the strengths and limitations of the therapeutic communication which could help me in enhancing my inter-professional skills further. Therefore, advancing in some of the practical clinical skills would help me in adding more value in my next clinical placement.
Conclusion
The entire learning activities helped me in honing my skills as a nursing professional and learn the aspect of therapeutic communication better. Additionally, the refection to the practical scenario also helped me in understanding certain aspects of nursing care such following a list of vital signs for monitoring the patient along with application of evidence based approaches which are pivotal to effective handover of the patient.
References
Benbenishty, J., & Hannink, J. R. (2017). Patient Perspectives on the Influence of Practice of Nurses Forming Therapeutic Relationships. International Journal for Human Caring, 21(4), 208-213. Retrieved from : https://doi.org/10.20467/HumanCaring-D-17-00060
Blais, K., Hayes, J. S., Kozier, B., & Erb, G. L. (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives (p. 530). NJ: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from : https://smrth1tyx01.storage.googleapis.com/MDEzMzgwMTMxNA==01
Clarke, S., Ells, C., Thombs, B. D., & Clarke, D. (2017). Defining elements of patient-centered care for therapeutic relationships: a literature review of common themes. European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare, 5(3), 362-372. Retrieved from : https://www.ubplj.org/index.php/ejpch/article/view/1337
Duarte, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Cruz, B. (2016). Relationships between nurses’ empathy, self-compassion and dimensions of professional quality of life: A cross-sectional study. International journal of nursing studies, 60, 1-11. DOI: Retrieved from : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.02.015
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Morera-Balaguer, J., Botella-Rico, J. M., Martínez-González, M. C., Medina-Mirapeix, F., & Rodríguez-Nogueira, Ó. (2018). Physical therapists’ perceptions and experiences about barriers and facilitators of therapeutic patient-centred relationships during outpatient rehabilitation: a qualitative study. Brazilian journal of physical therapy. Retrieved from : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjpt.2018.04.003
nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au (2018), nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au , Retrieved on 29 May 2018, from https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Statements/Professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx
Slatyer, S., Coventry, L. L., Twigg, D., & Davis, S. (2016). Professional practice models for nursing: a review of the literature and synthesis of key components. Journal of nursing management, 24(2), 139-150. Retrieved from : https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12309
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Wyder, M., Bland, R., Blythe, A., Matarasso, B., & Crompton, D. (2015). Therapeutic relationships and involuntary treatment orders: Service users’ interactions with health?care professionals on the ward. International journal of mental health nursing, 24(2), 181-189. Retrieved from : https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12121