Working in nursing homes is very different from working in hospitals. One of the differences is that nurses spend a lot of time to communicate with family members in nursing homes. Most of residents are not independent decision makers. They have their family members, friends or public trustees as power of attorney (POA). Nurses need to communicate with residents’ POAs for making each appointment, cutting hair, buying clothes, as well as notify the POAs for residents’ sudden health changes, any unusual incidents such as falls, and medication changes. When family members come to visit, most of them come to nursing office to talk to the nurses about their loved ones. Communicating with family members is a little bit challenging, but it is also rewarding.(The image was downloaded from: http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/PrintFriendly.aspx?CC=118436 )
2 comments:
I understand the difficulties you may face when dealing with family members. Being a nurse in Mental Health, I interact quite a bit with clients' families and they can be even more challenging to deal with than the clients. But it's all part of the job...and I love it all!
I agree with you. Communication is essential and it can change the situation.
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