Comfort, a concept associated with the art of healthcare, is important for reducing the negative impact of hospitalization. Providing nursing interventions that ensure patient comfort is important for patients to respond positively to treatment. However, what is patient comfort? Moreover, who is responsible for patient comfort and how to do that?
What Is Comfort Care?
Comfort care is defined as a patient care plan that is focused on symptom control, pain relief, and quality of life. It is typically administered to patients who have already been hospitalized several times, with further medical treatment unlikely to change matters.
Who is responsible for patient comfort?
All medical staff starting from the junior to the senior are all responsible for patient comfort. The psychological and mental health is all what matters for a patient.
How to make patients comfortable and keep them stress free?
Patients have every right to be anxious — being in the hospital is scary. Nevertheless, those warriors, who ought to help patients, learn how to manage stress in themselves and others. This is considered as a unique skill they will carry with them throughout their life not just on shift. Therefore, how to comfort a patient?
1. Let the patient be heard.
2. Explain the what and the why.
3. Don’t tell the patient to relax; instead, show them how.
4. Do hourly rounds.
5. Use humor.
6. Prepare yourself for stressful situations.
7. Be empathetic.
For example, nursing staff spend time with patients prior to their stay to discuss measures that will help them feel more comfortable, such as bringing fuzzy socks from home and arranging to get a fan in the room.
While it may be impossible to completely eliminate anxiety from the patient experience, a medical staff can reduce stress by helping their patients feel safe, soothed and at home in the hospital’s office. A welcoming patient space combined with the staff professional expertise can be the key in attracting and retaining a robust patient population. Some major tips for a comfy space are:
• Use warm, welcoming elements, such as wood or faux wood furniture and flooring.
• Choose paint colors that are pleasant and calming, such as greens, blues, golds and warm neutrals. Avoid bright or alarming shades of red, orange and yellow.
• Although bright lighting may be necessary in exam rooms, try table lamps and dimmer lighting options in waiting rooms.
• Incorporate natural elements, such as plants, river stones, flowers and fish tanks into waiting areas.
• Opt for soft, comfortable furniture in waiting rooms and offer extra seating in exam rooms so your patient is not relegated to the exam table alone.
• Play soft music.
These touches in some cases help make up for less-pleasant parts of hospitalization that cannot be avoided for medical reasons. Surely, patients take notice of the effort they are provided which can benefit the hospital in several ways, including higher patient satisfaction scores that can lead to more revenue.
At Phlebotomy Career Training, we believe patient comfort should be of the utmost importance. Whether it is our Medical Assistants, CNAs, Patient Care Technicians, EKG Technicians or our Phlebotomy Technicians, we train our students in cutting edge techniques in healthcare and patient comfort.
Please feel free to contact our offices today at (888) 410-6416 or visit us at phlebotomycareertraining.com for more information or to speak to an admissions advisor.