Effective communication is a key element of successful quality caregiving of a nurse (Roberts, 2013). From time to time, nurses handle patients faced with confusion, which can be caused by different conditions such as trauma, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Nurses, therefore, need adequate communication skills to offer quality care to such patients. The nurse-patient communication should be two way and done in different forms, that is, verbal and non-verbal forms. In addition, the environment of the patient must be kept positive to ensure effective communication. Patients should also be made as comfortable as possible so that they feel free to communicate and for their communication not to be disrupted. Nurses, on the other hand, should be friendly, professional, approachable, knowledgeable and attentive, as well as have good verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Both verbal and non-verbal communication is vital in nurse-patient communication. A combination of both makes communication more effective. Verbal communication involves speaking, listening as well as responding purposely. Speaking involves asking and answering questions, greetings, informing, and the like. Non-verbal communication involves maintaining eye contact, touch, facial expressions, posture, head and hand gestures, and paralanguage among others. Both verbal and non-verbal communications should be used appropriately to fulfill the purpose of communicating with patients’.
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Patients who face confusion are mostly the elderly with conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Such patients need specialized care. As such, communicating with such patients needs much patience. However, the process is faced with several challenges, which need to be overcome for success to be achieved. For example, older patients may want to challenge the authority of younger nurses (Caris-Verhallen et al., 1996). The nurses also face the challenge of managing the time spent with different patients and completing all their tasks. These patients, therefore, need to be handled by highly qualified nurses who understand how to communicate to them without worsening their condition. The job is not easy and, therefore, needs a lot of patience. Patients with confusion need to be addressed directly even if they may have a diminished cognitive capability. Repetition of statements and giving them time to respond can help them communicate. Such patients should not be shouted at but they must be addressed distinctly and at a favorable speed (National Institute on Aging). Rephrasing statements can also help such patients to understand what they do not understand in the first attempt. The patients should also be oriented when brought to a new facility or introduced to a new caregiver. The caregiver should always tell the patient what he or she is up to and try to involve the patient in a conversation as much as possible.
Open-ended questions are recommended for a nurse-patient communication. However, for a patient with confusion, yes or no questions can be preferred when the patient is unable to cope up with the open-ended questions. The caregiver should also be friendly enough to let the patient understand that the questions are not a text but rather a way of helping them with their condition. The caregiver should be calculative with the words they say to the patients. They should always sympathize with the patient but not let them feel as if their condition is the end of their life. The caregivers should also be careful while providing information to avoid causing more confusion for the patient or even shock in the case whereby the information contains undesirable news. The caregiver should use gestures such as touching the patient to encourage them and give them hope. They should also address the patients’ safety and encourage them to engage in positive behavior that will lead to their well-being.
References
Caris-Verhallen, W., Kerkstra, A., Bensing, J. (1996). The Role of Communication in Nursing Care for Elder People: A Review of the Literature, Journal of Advanced Nursing , vol. 23 p.915-933
National Institute on Aging. (2017). Communicating with a Confused Patient. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/communicating-confused-patient
Roberts, D. (2013). Psychosocial Nursing Care: A Guide to Nursing the Whole Person. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill.
