How to Coach Yourself and Others Coaching and Counseling in Difficult Circumstances | Page 74

This book is in B&W, not color - Print page in Grayscale for Correct view! Set interaction limits (3/29) Nurses recognised that patients with these symptoms could be very demanding and request more staff time than could possibly be given to them. They therefore suggested that if this was an issue, limits should be placed on how often the staff would converse with the patient, and/or on the duration of those conversations: ‘before … I tell them I go five minutes and five minutes only, or ten minutes and ten minutes only’. Reduce stimulation (3/28) Excessive stimulation was seen as likely to make the agitated or overactive patient worse. Such stimulation could come from nurses trying too hard to make contact with patients, for example by following a pacing patient, placing such a patient on special observation, or asking them to do more things. Upset/distress Reveal self (2/28) Being prepared to mention one’s own experience of distressing events, not to look for sympathy for oneself, but in order to establish a good rapport. “That's really upsetting, I know when somebody died, when my uncle died I was really upset about that. I wouldn't be adverse about saying, there's a shared humanity here that we have, we share some of this experience and what you’re going through is really human and normal, and it's important that we are here together to just survive this.” Limit unnecessary interaction (2/28) At the point at which someone is acutely distressed, it is not a good time to be asking too many questions or trying to communicate too much information. Aggression/irritability Get them sat down (4/28) Nurses suggested that if you could get the patient to sit down with you, then this had a calming effect that enabled more reasonable conversation: ‘you can't feel quite so pumped if you're sat down talking to someone’. Get the patient to write (2/28) Communication through writing was seen as a possibility, a way for the patient to express themselves without the risk of them losing their temper in a closer interaction with staff: ‘getting them to write down their frustrations and the reasons why they’re becoming angry’. Maintain clarity (3/38) Making sure that the patient had a good understanding of what was happening and what you are doing, preventing as far as possible any misunderstandings that might heighten or trigger the release of anger. So, for example, nurses suggested checking with the patient how they understood what was going on and why you were talking with them, in addition ‘even if you think they're not listening, or can’t hear you is to continue to explain to them about why you're doing it and actually what you're doing.’ Partly this was about recognising that irritability and aggression affect the ability to concentrate, listen and take in information, and this ‘makes them more irritable and aggressive’, so extra effort has to me made to keep everything clear by the use of copious explanations. “They’ll probably make assumptions about what you are saying, so I think it’s really important to let them know exactly what you're saying, check that they’ve heard you.” For [email protected] Property of Bookemon, do NOT distribute 76