Nurse - Client Relationship

Nurse – Client relationship is essential in nursing practice. The basic element of the relationship between nurse and client depends on the interaction of thought, feeling, and action of each person. The patient will experience better health when all their needs are fully considered in the relationship (Peplau, Interpersonal Relation 9).

Nurse establishes and maintains this relationship by nursing knowledge and skills, as well as applying caring attitudes and behaviors. This nurse – client relationship is based on trust, respect, empathy and professional intimacy.

There are principles in establishing nurse – client relationship :

• Care for the client in holistic manner
• Maintain genuineness, respect, empathy and concreteness
• Assess religious and spiritual practice of patient
• Assess cultural beliefs and values
• Honest and open communication
• Encourage expression of the client’s feeling
• Established in appropriate limits
• Help the client to develop resources

PHASE OF THERAPEUTIC NURSE-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP


Preinteraction phase. It begins before the nurse’s first contact with client, self exploration about his or her values and feeling for caring for the client

Orientation Phase. In this phase, the nurse establish boundaries, acceptance, ant trust with client, identify the expectation and assess the anxiety in the client. Goals are defined with the client in this phase, as well as preparing the client for termination or separation of relationship.
Working Phase. Nurse promotes an attitude of acceptance and assist the client to express feelings by using the constructive coping mechanisms, and increase the client’s independence.

Termination or Separation Phase. This is the end of all phase in which the nurse prepares the client for termination and separation on initial contact and evaluate progress and achievement of goals. Nurse encourage the client to discuss the feeling about termination and never promise the client that the relationship will be continued. This is times to refer and transfer the client to other available support systems.