Question

Topic #4: The Difficult Patient In the lesson, you read the story about, The Difficult Patient Reflect on a clinical experience where you cared for a "difficult patient?" Include a description of the experience of the encounter. Delve into your emotions such as peace, confidence, happiness, joy, gratitude, inspiration, frustration, anger and/or uncertainty, as well as insights into interprofessional care and the impact of emotions on nursing practice. How did this encounter contribute to your professional development? How might this experience change your nursing practice?

Answer 1

I remember one gentleman who had a reputation for being extremely difficult. He was angry and argumentative and would often fight with the other nurses over things as little as the temperature of his room. I admit , I wasn't excited when I found I was going to be working with him, so to prepare, I looked his charts. I discovered that his wife had died a number of years ago and that he had no family or friends in the area and hadn't had a visitor in ages. Rather than treating him just as a patient, I did my best to connect with him as a human. I would talk to him, not just at him. It took a little, but eventually he came around and ended up being one of my favorite people . Later this encounter, I myself had a pride feeling in working through the problems others have given up on. Within me more patience, caring and moreover confidence increased to work among any kind of patients with their different issues physically and emotionally. Through this experience, I discovered that I have that potential to tackle tough situations in a very calm and respective manner.