Essay Sample on Care and Compassion in Nursing

Introduction

Compassion and caring are vital virtues in the nursing field and the well being of patients. A compassionate or caring nurse is empathetic to the sufferings or the pain that the patient is undergoing. This increases the patient's comfort when in pain, feeling sick, or suffering emotionally or mentally. Demonstrating care and compassion gives the patients confidence and support necessary for the preparation of lengthy recovery or fight a distressing disease. Therefore, compassion and caring can be defined as an act of sympathetic awareness of someone's distress and the desire to ease it. In nursing, compassion also deals with relieving suffering and pain and involving oneself to the patient's experience, thus ensuring they retain their dignity and independence. Offering emotional support subsequently provides incredible self- gratification to the patient.

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Evidence Based Approach

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an approach used by nurses to solve problems by identifying the care strategy required and providing individualized patient care. Various behaviors demonstrate care and compassion in nursing. The most significant attribute that demonstrates care and compassion is listening. Attentiveness and listening creates a caring environment as well as strengthening the nurse-patient bond. Another behavior includes relationship development, which results in trust and rapport brought about by a compassionate and caring relationship. The third behavior of care and compassion is alleviating pain and suffering. Caring aids nurses in remembering easing patients' suffering apart from diagnosis. Another attribute manifested by care and compassion is touching. The act of touch fills the void of lack of human contact. Finally, the act of going beyond the nursing role is a characteristic of compassion and care. The passion of nurses in volunteering exhibits a caring and compassionate attribute (Curtis, 2018).

There are various patients' scenarios and situations in relation to the behaviors identified. The attribute of listening is illustrated when a nurse is willing to listen to the patient during the time of want, having time with a grieving patient to listen to their narration and connecting with the patient, exhibiting humbleness when listening to them. The second attribute of compassion and care is developing a relationship with patients. For instance, knowing the clients and their situations facilitates easy work. A patient once accused a nurse of discrimination since he could not get him in the schedule because he did not understand his condition. After learning about his health concerns and diagnosing the situation, the relationship was wrapped, and a trust tie was established between the nurse and patient (Hassmiller, 2017).

Alleviating Suffering

The third behavior concerned alleviating suffering. In a scenario where a patient is in a challenging situation, nurses engage themselves in supporting the patient's family, alleviating their emotional and psychological suffering. This demonstrates care and compassion. Another behavior identified is the act of touch. Some of the scenarios include a patient who has received news that they have cancer. The nurse will demonstrate care and compassion by holding their hand, rubbing their back and shoulder, maintain appropriate eye contact, and spending more time with the patient. The final behavior of care and compassion involves nurses acting beyond their roles. For instance, nurses do extra duties that are not directed by the M.D. to show compassion and care for their patients. This may include washing them, visiting them at their homes, and providing for the less fortunate (Aagard et al., 2018).

A patient had skin cancer at stage IV. The young lady realized the situation at a very late period. She went through aggressive treatment stages, which included chemotherapy, surgeries, immunotherapy, radiation, and targeted therapy. The news and process were scary and an obstacle that seemed hard to overcome. She often felt hopeless, helpless, and inadequate. She also had somatic complaints, increased tension, restlessness, and insomnia. Therefore, a diagnosis of these effects was carried out. The nurses had to display compassionate behaviors such as listening to the patient, creating a good relationship with the patient, and alleviating the emotional and psychological suffering (Hassmiller, 2017).

The nurse diagnosis indicated that the patient was suffering from fear and anxiety. These issues would arise from the situational crisis, which was cancer, threats associated with changes in health status, socioeconomic position, role operation or forms of interaction, the threat of death, contagion of feelings, and separation from family due to hospitalization and treatment. The other problem was the risk of skin impairment. These risk aspects include the impacts of chemotherapy and radiation, changed nutritional state, immunologic deficit, and anemia.

The nurses provided numerous interventions with a rationale to the patient. For the fear and anxiety issue, the nurse needed to review the patient's previous cancer experience, determine the doctor's information to the patients, and identify the patient's attained conclusion. The rationale was to clarify the perception of the patient and help in identifying the fears and myths based on experience with cancer. Secondly, the nurse encouraged the patient to share their feelings and thoughts. This gave an opportunity of examining realistic fears and diagnosis misconceptions. Also, the nurse maintained frequent contact with the patient, talked, and listened to them, as well as touched the patient appropriately. The rationale was to ensure the patient is not rejected or lonely and fosters trust.

Concerning skin impairment, the nurse ensured the patient used lukewarm water and mild soap when bathing. This guaranteed cleanliness without skin irritation. Additionally, the nurse recommended wearing loose, soft cotton clothing. The intervention ensured that the patient's skin was protected from ultraviolet rays and reduced the risk of reaction. The nurse would also advise against the application of heat or attempt to wash away tattoos or marks. This helped in controlling dampness and pruritus.

Conclusion

In conclusion, evidence-based practices exhibit various behaviors that demonstrate compassion and care in nursing. These included listening to the patient, compassionate touch to show empathy, easing their suffering, developing a good relationship, and exceeding the role to care for the patients. This ensures that the patients are comfortable and maximizes their recovery rate. The attributes also ensure that patients feel a sense of belonging and love from compassionate nurses.

References

Aagard, M., Papadopoulos, I., Biles, J. (2018). "Exploring Compassion in U.S. Nurses: Results from an International Research Study" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 23, No. 1. Doi: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01PPT44

Curtis, K. (2018). Compassion is an essential component of good nursing care. Evidence-based nursing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/eb-2014-102025

Hassmiller, B. (2017). The Essence of Nursing Care. AJN, American Journal of Nursing: Volume 117 doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000516250.61687.63.