Response Posts MH Week 5

Response Posts

Respond to at least two classmates and describe new knowledge gained from their post.

Describe how this new knowledge will impact your nursing practice.

Please make your initial post by midweek and respond to at least two other student's post by the end of the week. Please check the Course Calendar for specific due dates.

Keisha Frison

6 hours ago, at 2:42 AM

 

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Working as a LPN I have encountered some people who have been agitated, delirous and even extremly anxious. Remaining calm and showing the patient that you care is extremely important. Many times I can turn the situation around with how I react/respond to a situation. It's important to have empathy and be caring. I found that many people just feel that they are not listened to or understood and sometimes they are just not in their right mind at all. Dealing with verbally abusive patients is not always easy to do, you really have to be calm and remember that they are ill, I believe that it is okay to let the patient know I the way they are behaving is not appropriate and sometimes you just have to walk away from a situation until the patient is calm and you are calm. I have worked as a nursing assitant for 15 years prior to becoming a LPN and when I had my first ever encounter with a person who was verbally and physically abusive I was mad, upset and I also wanted to cry. Over the years I learned new ways to deal with those type of patients and I have gotten a lot better with deescalating situations. It takes time and practice. I have learned that sometimes listening to what people have to say goes a long way.

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Elyse Jorgenson

19 hours ago, at 1:24 PM

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I work in high acuity adolescent psych, so I have had many instances (pretty much daily) where I have been verbally assaulted, threatened, sworn at, been called names, been rude to, etc. When I first started working in the field these situations made me really anxious and I would sometimes take it personally and get upset. There were times where I felt like arguing with the patient and even times when I cried after the interaction. Throughout the last six years in the field, I have grown a lot and learned a lot of new skills when it comes to working with verbally escalated patients. When situations like this happen to me in the present time, I remain calm. I maintain a neutral affect and tone of voice. I restate what my expectation is for the patient (Example: “I will talk with you when you are calm and are ready to speak to me respectfully”) I validate the patient’s feelings (Example: “I understand that you are upset with me right now”). A lot of the time the best thing to do is to disengage with the patient. Arguing or trying to get your point across to someone who is escalated and verbally abusive to you usually makes the situation worse. Disengaging has worked for me many times. It might anger the patient initially as they may think that you are ignoring them, but they will usually calm down without the stimulation from another person and be ready to talk at a later time. Another thing that can be helpful is to switch out with a co-worker who is not the target of the verbal abuse. A new face in a difficult situation can be helpful. It does feel a bit defeating to have to switch out with someone, but you have to remember that you are working as a team. I have learned so much about therapeutic communication when it comes to working with verbally escalated patients throughout my time working in mental health. My reaction, my tone of voice and my body language will either make or break the situation. I can escalate the patient further or I can de-escalate them, it all depends on how I choose to react. One thing that is important in maintaining a therapeutic relationship with a client who has verbally assaulted you is to not hold any personal grudges against the patient. You can have a collaborative conversation with the patient after the fact and come up with solutions for the next occurrence, but that should be the extent of it. You cannot be mad at them, treat them differently, etc because of the situation. It is not therapeutic for the patient or the staff member. It can be hard to let things like that go as sometimes their words can be very hurtful, but it is an acquired skill and is learned through experience.

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