Get the answer of: Why a Nurse should try to understand the Attitudes of Patients?
Knowledge of attitude formation and change is very essential for nurses. By this, she can understand her own attitudes, which are positive and helping for effective nursing care and, negative which are affecting adversely.
If the nurse has a positive attitude for her work, she will have motivation and interest. Otherwise, she may neglect her duties, may be careless and cannot be attentive which lead to many dangerous consequences.
Understanding the attitudes of patients is equally important. Because if the patient has positive attitude towards the hospital, doctors, nurses and the treatment, he will accept and co-operate. Otherwise, if he has a negative attitude, he does not co-operate for treatment, he may not take drugs properly and may not heed to the advice given by the medical faculty.
Hence, the nurse should try to understand the attitudes of patients, and try to change them, if they are negative. This requires the nurse to develop friendly, warmth and sober attitudes towards her duties and her patients.
Kempf and Averill have suggested the following list of attitudes essential to become a successful and efficient nurse:
1. Ambition to do her work well.
2. Conformity with the rules and regulations of the nursing profession.
3. Willingness to work with effectiveness.
4. Cheerfulness and optimism.
5. Interest in the problems and difficulties of other people.
6. Cooperativeness, industriousness, respect for the opinion and judgement of others.
7. Interest in increasing the fund of knowledge underlying effective nursing care.
8. Determination to grow professionally.
9. Maintenance of poise and self-control in all professional situations.
10. Maintaining a consistent pride in their profession.
11. Arising to the unexpected without undue panic.
12. Determination to make the patient comfortable by giving attention to small details that mean so much to the patient’s well-being.