ANSWER
Week 1: The Value of the Right to Deny Unjustified Requests
Maintaining professional boundaries, ethical behavior, and one’s own wellbeing all depend on having the freedom to turn down irrational requests from clients and coworkers. Nurses must put their own physical and mental well-being, patient safety, and evidence-based practice first. Burnout might result from granting irrational requests, such as doing treatments outside of protocol or putting in excessive hours. Along with encouraging a respectful and accountable culture within the healthcare team, this right also gives nurses the ability to speak up for themselves and their patients.
2. Differentiating Between Aggressive, Assertive, and Assertive Refusals
Assertive Refusals: These are assertive, courteous, and unambiguous. For instance, “I understand your concerns, but I cannot administer this medication without a physician’s order.” Maintaining professional boundaries while acknowledging the other person’s request is a sign of assertiveness.
Forceful Refusals: Aggressive rejections are aggressive or contemptuous. “I’m not doing that, and you shouldn’t even ask!” is one example. Relationships may suffer and conflicts may increase with this strategy.
In order to ensure that the nurse communicates successfully while upholding professionalism, assertiveness strikes a balance between firmness and empathy.
3. Handling a Patient or Family in Distress
I have provided care for a family whose loved one had a life-threatening illness. The family’s concern was evident as they became irate with the medical staff and demanded frequent updates. Their actions caused conflict among employees and interfered with the treatment of other patients.
Impact on Others: Staff members found it difficult to concentrate on other patients due to the elevated emotions, which also caused emotional tiredness in coworkers.
Assertive Reaction: An assertive reaction entailed demonstrating empathy and establishing firm boundaries: “I want to make sure your loved one gets the greatest care possible since I know how tough this situation is for you. I’ll take a time to address your inquiries and go over the treatment plan. I’ll have to take care of other patients after that, but I’ll keep in touch with you.” This strategy kept them in control of the issue and lessened its effect on other people while validating their feelings.
4. The Challenge of Patient Interaction and Distancing
A patient with chronic pain who repeatedly disregarded medical advice and accused staff of not understanding their situation was the subject of one difficult interaction. The patient’s concerns irritated coworkers and occasionally resulted in avoidance behavior, which is a defining characteristic of the distancing phenomenon.
Have I Been Distancingd? At first, I did feel compelled to steer clear of extended conversations because of the emotional cost. But I was aware of this propensity, so I deliberately took a strong and sympathetic stance, listening to the patient’s frustrations and acknowledging them while guiding the discussion toward evidence-based remedies. This strategy eased stress and reaffirmed how crucial it is to deal with challenging patients without passing judgment.
Citation
Jacob, S. R., and Cherry, B. (2022). Issues, trends, and management in contemporary nursing, 9th ed. Elsevier.
QUESTION
Review week 7 content and answer the following questions.
1. Please discuss the importance of the right to refuse unreasonable requests from clients and colleagues.
2. Please distinguish between assertive, and assertive and aggressive refusals.
3. Describe a situation in which a patient or family you cared for was highly distressed. Discuss the effect of the distressed behavior on other patients/clients or on you or your colleagues. Describe an assertive response based on chapter
4. Difficult patients and patient complaints have a common theme based on the articles in your reading. Provide an example of a difficult patient encounter you experienced. Did you experience the distancing phenomena? Why or why not?
P ostings should be a minimum of 250 words, spellchecked, and succinct in grammar and completed Wednesday by 11:59pm with response to two peers by Sunday 11:59pm. Discussions require an APA reference at the end of your posting unless stated in the discussion instructions for the week. Complete the self grading quiz Sunday by 11:59pm.