As a healthcare professional, you know that the most crucial part of your job is patient care. You work hard every day to ensure that your patients are getting the best possible care from you and your employer. But everyone has room for improvement. If you want to provide complete patient-centered care, what skills should you focus on? Here are some things to consider.
Foster Personal Respect
Personal respect is a two-way street. If you condescend the patient or treat them like they don’t know what you are saying or what they want, they will lose respect for you. If they lose respect for you, they will lose confidence in the care they’re receiving. Instead, foster personal respect, treat them as individuals and try to understand their perspective.
Coordinate and Integrate All Aspects of Care
You are just one person in an intricate machine of patient care. When patients feel like “the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” they’ll become frustrated. To provide better patient care, be sure to communicate with the entire caregiving team effectively. Coordinate with everyone and integrate each aspect of care, so it appears seamless.
Promote Education
Sometimes, the difference between good and bad patient care is the time you take to educate your patients. When you’re discussing aspects of their care with them, start by asking them what they already know. Then focus on filling in the gaps and educating them on the remaining portion of what to expect.
Provide Comfort
Compassion should always be a major component of patient care. You should be able to provide physical comfort, such as extra blankets to keep them warm or other simple gestures that will give them a compassionate feeling. But comfort can also be about showing kindness when the patient might be expecting cold or distant feelings around them.
Ask for Family Input
While you should always ask for patient input as a part of their care, you should also consider their families. If family members are present, be sure to include them in all aspects of the process, ask questions, and encourage them to be a part of the recovery team at home after the patient leaves your care.
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