The patient was admitted to the hospital with advanced-stage cancer. As the nurse was admitting her, the patient told her about how her little dog learned a new trick, and could play dead when she said "bang-bang."

Question

Why did the nurse listen attentively to the patient's story?
a. She knew it was easy to do and she had nothing else to do at that time.
b. It was little more than two people talking back and forth.
c. She knew it was probably not going to affect the patient-nurse relationship.
d. She knew it was a way to know and respond to what matters to the patient.

Answer 1

D
True listening leads to knowing and responding to what really matters to a patient and family. Learning to listen to a patient is sometimes difficult. It is easy to become distracted by tasks at hand, colleagues shouting instructions, or other patients waiting to have their needs met. Caring is an interpersonal interaction that is much more than two persons simply talking back and forth. In a caring relationship a nurse establishes trust, opens lines of communication, and listens to what a patient has to say. Listening to the meaning of what a patient says creates a mutual relationship.