Currently, we have a rather difficult patient with a complex family dynamic that was admitted to our unit on 10W. Many team members have experienced great challenges in meeting the care goals due to the patient’s frequent non-compliance and dismissal. The patient themselves took much educating and coercing to do the simplest of tasks. To make matters more challenging, the family was not always the easiest to get along with and would, at times, interfere with care and would become upset with the nursing staff when care goals were not met at a specific time. Both the patient and family could be demanding and lacked any flexibility or empathy for all the nursing team was trying to accomplish with this patient.

While it was handed off during report on how challenging this patient and family can be, Deanna was able to put this bias aside and build a rapport with the patient, further engaging him in reaching some of his care goals for the day. When Deanna was first assigned to the patient, she spent an hour with him, feeding him his lunch. During this time, she got to know him personally. She learned he was a warden of a large correctional facility and better understood why her patient was so fixated on timelines and communicated with such authority. She came to understand his demeanor was in his nature based on his professional experience. As Deanna came to learn more about his personal life story, she realized how much this patient’s life had changed so quickly and so drastically.

At 53 years old, this gentleman is now practically bed-bound, unable to eat independently, and now has a freshly implanted heart – which is quite the adjustment for anyone. It was during this precious time that Deanna was able to understand the patient's needs and motivators better, which contributed to building an effective rapport with the patient. While it may not always be easy to spend this length of time with any patient, it truly makes for such a powerful impact when we do. Because Deanna took the time to connect with her patient, she was able to create a much different experience for the two of them. Thank you, Deanna, for taking the time to connect with your patient on a human level.