Practice 35 Behavioral Nursing interview questions covering de-escalation, crisis response, and therapeutic communication.
Question 26 of 35
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Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
Patients and families are often experiencing stress while in the hospital with health challenges and are often anxious and anticipatory when receiving care. They may have been worried all night about experiencing pain during their bath or embarrassment during a catheter change, and even the slightest delay may increase anxiety. A great nurse is mindful of that and does not dismiss the importance of even the most routine task to a patient. Being organized can help a nurse be more efficient with time, but sometimes patients require more care. For example, the nurse may have just completed a difficult sacral wound vac dressing change when the patient has diarrhea, requiring the dressing be redone. The nurse has several other patients waiting but cannot leave this patient without the wound vac or soiled. He or she could not have planned this more efficiently. The only choice is to redo the dressing, which takes time. The nurse should use the call bell or connect with team members to have them communicate to other patients that there is a delay so that they do not experience anxiety, or request other team members help with the other patients.

Dianne Barnard is a Registered Nurse and former nursing instructor. She is also board certified in Psychiatric Nursing and Holistic Nursing Critical Care.
"I try to be very organized, but sometimes patients just take more time, and there is nothing you can do but take the time with them if you want to provide great care. During my pediatrics rotation, one little girl really liked me, and they needed to do blood work on her. She was terrified and refusing and screaming for me to stay with her. I had several other patients that were waiting. I kneeled down and told her that I would stay with her, but I needed to go tell my team members, and I asked the lab worker not to do anything until I came back. I asked my team member if she could take another child down to PT, and I went back and supported the little girl through the blood draw. She insisted I get a sticker too!"

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Written by Kelly Burlison
35 Questions & Answers • Behavioral Nursing

By Kelly

By Kelly