5 Aspects of Patient Care that Doctors can Learn from Nurses | eMedEvents

 In the past, healthcare professionals were educated in separate environments according to their

professions, resulting in their tendencies to think and act separately once they move on to an

actual working environment. Studies have shown that interprofessional collaboration leads to

better patient care outcomes by improving teamwork and coworker communication. Therefore,

all members of the healthcare team can benefit by demonstrating open-mindedness

towards each other's unique perspectives and areas of expertise.

In particular, nurses form the very backbone of hospital staff. They also serve as the face of the

healthcare team, with nurses' regular and consistent interactions often forming the crux of each

patient's hospital experience. Their compassion, education, experience, and hard work are what

allow them to provide exceptional care. Not only do nurses receive specialized training in the

realm of caregiving, but they also hold a special relationship with patients from which they can draw and

share invaluable insight with physicians.

Though there is an entire world of possibilities that can be accomplished through professional

collaboration, there are five key elements that physicians can learn from their nurse colleagues.

1. Insight into a patient's thoughts, feelings, and personal needs

On a daily basis, nurses spend the most time with patients, and they are usually the first to

notice minor changes in their patients' physical conditions and mental states. When a physician

wants to know how a given patient is doing, that patient's primary nurse is the first person to

ask. Nurses provide consistent, direct care, and they can offer personalized advice during times

in which a physician may have to deliver an unfavorable medical update.

2. Advice for gaining a patient's trust

In general, patients are more at ease around their nurses and put a great deal of faith in them

when it comes to their health and needs. Among all healthcare professions, nurses are

consistently regarded as the most trustworthy when viewed from a patient-oriented

perspective.

Therefore, in instances where you-as the physician-would like to learn more about your

patient's wishes and feelings on the direction their treatment plan is heading. you can benefit

immensely from speaking to their nurses. Furthermore, you may find it best to defer to the

nurses altogether or have them present during times in which you propose treatment

modifications to your patient.

3. Information on a patient's family dynamics

Nurses do not represent the hospital healthcare experience to patients alone; their daily

interactions often involve the patients' family members as well, as day-to-day care tasks

coincide with visiting hours, giving nurses a distinguished look into the patient's family life and

the support system awaiting them once they have been discharged.

4. Tips for conducting difficult conversations

Because nurses are the members of hospital staff whom patients tend to trust the most, it is

likely that they have discussed sensitive, personal issues with their patients regarding their

health and medical care. At times, physicians may be left out entirely during conversations on

palliative or hospice care and other similarly difficult topics.

While nurses can absolutely provide generalized advice on difficult conversations, the true

the advantage to this type of collaboration lies in the ability to personalize the ways in which you

initiate and conduct sensitive conversations with your patients.

5, Ways to prioritize your patients

All too often, physicians are stretched impossibly thin due to the many expectations and

demands that come with the profession, including the vast number of patients they must care

for in a single day and their various administrative responsibilities. At times, it can be challenging

to deliver the personalized care each patient needs.

Here, physicians can look to nurses and their work as reminders of the necessity for

compassionate patient care. Nurses engage closely with their patients, and they must do so

while maintaining attentiveness towards every patient's unique personality and beliefs. By

observing nurses, physicians can learn ways of developing closer relationships with their

patients even in spite of the comparative brevity of doctor-patient interactions.

Conclusion

Effective teamwork is a two-way street, and physicians can be a wealth of information to nurses,

in turn. While nurses are most skilled in nurturing trusting relationships with a multitude of

patients (many of whom they will not see again), physicians often have long-term relationships

with a select few patients and their families, which nurses may be able to learn from, themselves.

Apart from mutual respect for each other's professional knowledge and personal insight,

teamwork is also dependent on efficient communication, which is especially important in a

hospital setting. By working together as a cohesive team that recognizes each other's inherent

value, physicians and nurses can reach their full potential in the realm of providing excellent

patient care.