Compassionate Care and the Patient and Caregiver Relationship

Compassionate Care and the Patient and Caregiver Relationship

Kenneth Schwartz was a health-care lawyer who had only been exposed to the business side of healthcare. It was not until he was diagnosed with lung cancer that he would experience another role in healthcare, being a patient. The battle he was up against would not only be physical but also emotional. In the end, Schwartz lost his battle against lung cancer just under a year of being diagnosed. The one thing he repeatedly emphasized was the empathetic acts of kindness the caregivers bestowed upon him. Cancer to him was not just about physically beating the cancer, it was for his well-being as a whole ,and his desire to stay intact through out the process. He may have lost his battle with cancer but the care he was provided kept him hopeful and optimistic until his untimely passing. Compassionate care should be a staple for all healthcare providers. It can improve outcomes of health, increase the satisfaction of the patient, and aid in better adherence to recommendations from the caregivers. Patients should never feel they are being rushed, that they are not important, or that they are not receiving the best provision of care possible.

Even when he tried to stay optimistic, fear and anxiety set in often in Schwartz’s mind. He experienced fear and anxiety related to impending death. Worries of missing out on his son growing up and not experiencing romantic moments with his wife ever again filled him with both terror and grief. He expressed this fear to his psychiatrist and his concern that he might be depressed. Dr Cassem assured him that crying was a sign of acknowledgment of his love for his family. He also worried if there was anything he could do t...

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...e with compassion fatigue will be of no use to help with the patient’s emotional and spiritual needs. The emotions of both the nurse and the patient needs to be met in order to establish good communication and compassionate care between the two.

References

Betcher, D. K. (2010). Elephant in the Room Project: Improving Caring Efficacy through Effective and Compassionate Communication with Palliative Care Patients. Medsurg Nursing, 19(2), 101-105.

Corso, Vincent M. (2012). Oncology Nurse as Wounded Healer: Developing a Compassion Identity. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing 16(5), 448-450.

Kret, D. (2011). The Qualities of a Compassionate Nurse According to the Perceptions Of Medical-Surgical Patients. Medsurg Nursing, 20(1), 29-36.

Schwartz, Kenneth B. (1995, July). A Patient’s Story. The Boston Globe Magazine, pp.