A patient whose history includes physically abusing his spouse and children has been admitted to the unit for alcohol and drug dependency.Which nurse will likely experience difficulty establishing a therapeutic relationship with this patient?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The therapeutic use of the self begins with knowing yourself.Knowing yourself is a complex and lifelong learning process.At the core of self-knowledge is the nurse's ability to correctly identify his or her own negative or unresolved issues including family backgrounds,dynamic cultural and social issues,values,biases,and prejudices.Having been a victim of physical abuse places this nurse in a situation that can be very harmful to the development of an affective nurse-patient relationship.The novice nurse may lack some of the knowledge and experience necessary to be effective but is not a likely to have intruding biases and prejudices.The experienced nurse is more likely to have worked on the ability to provide effective care in spite of such experience with this type of diagnosis whereas,the nurse having been treated for the diagnosis is most likely to show empathy and caring.

A Patient Whose History Includes Physically Abusing His Spouse and Children