Dealing with challenging situations as a nurse or midwife
- By (29 articles)
As a nurse or midwife, you will often have challenging situations and patients. It is fundamental that you keep professional manners and control, regardless of how challenging the situation is. This will help you to prevent any escalations and will make it easy to keep stress at bay. Your job is to make sure that both you and your patients are both mentally and physically safe. The top tips for dealing with challenging situations are:
• Do not get defensive. Usually, patients get angry prior to their visit, due to what they have been going through. Even when you know you did nothing wrong, it is crucial that you keep your perspective straight and your attention on an appropriate solution to the issue they are facing.
• Control your body language. Your body and expressions speak, and this is why is important to keep good manners and control your words, tone, body language and overall response to get the outcome you desire. Whenever possible, sit down because this will show the patient that you care and have time to solve the issue.
• Let them talk and learn how to listen. When a patient has to explain what their issue is, they may be resistant, defensive, or even frightened. Let them talk, do not interrupt them; it is best to wait until they have calmed down, so that you can take a deep breath and collect your thoughts before responding. Use their name, speak softly, and maintain eye contact. This conveys openness and honesty.
• Acknowledge the situation. Be understanding, tell them that you feel for what they are going through, and try to say “I understand why you are upset”. Remain calm and, most importantly, avoid negative language; otherwise, this may escalate the situation.
• Set boundaries. Keep yourself, your patients, and your colleagues safe by staying in control. If a patient is becoming increasingly aggressive and you do not think the situation is going to improve, or even worse if you feel there is an imminent risk of physical aggression, end the consultation straight away.
• Be proactive. Do never ignore a problem or avoid communicating with an angry patient, as the problem is unlikely to go away on its own.
We understand that patients can be quite demanding and challenging when their health and life are at risk; this is why we are here to provide you with the best support and advice. If you would like to book a course, please visit our website or give us a call on 02036376722.
