Renee
Poulos
December 2019
Renee
Poulos
Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences
Rock Island
,
IL
United States

 

 

 

Renee was assigned a difficult patient who was actively hallucinating and very sick. Many individuals avoided this patient as it can be frightening to try to talk to or assist someone when they are as ill as her patient was. Renee was kind, calm, patient and reassured the patient she was there to help and keep them safe. The patient responded to this and came out of their room and into the community room. After spending time with Renee, the patient was able to interact with others on the unit. This was very beneficial to her patient because interacting with others is part of therapy. Before spending time with Renee the patient would come out into the hall, walk across to the nurse's station and mainly remain in their room worrying they were going to be harmed.  Renee had the option of taking a different patient to care for but chose to work with this patient. Her patient had refused to interact with most of the staff on the unit. This was a turning point in therapy for the patient. It showed empathy, good communication skills, understanding and knowledge regarding her patient's condition and showed courage and her ability to be present in challenging circumstances. She spent her morning with this patient.