health education | wellness

Category: Provider Education

  • How to Improve Your Bedside Manner

    How to Improve Your Bedside Manner

    While the majority of patients and their families appreciate the help and healing offered by healthcare providers, many also complain that the healthcare industry has become too impersonal and bureaucratic. They often cite historical references to the olden days when doctors were more personally acquainted with each patient, and report that nowadays they are not given enough one-on-one attention.

    Improve Your Bedside Manner

    Organizations have not only grown bigger, but technology has removed much of the human element in caregiver-to-patient interactions, as healthcare facilities strive to be more productive, efficient, and affordable.

    Steps to Improve Your Beside Manner

    There are steps you can take though, and here are four tips to improve your bedside manner that can make a real difference in how you are perceived by patients.

    1. Professional Can Also Be Friendly

    You need to maintain a professional demeanor, but that does not mean you cannot be warm and friendly. Greet the patient, make sure you pronounce their name correctly, and offer them energetic focus. Resist the urge to see them as a problem or puzzle to be solved before you move along to the next patient, and that extra effort will score lots of positive points.

    2. Nonverbal Communication Matters

    Improve Your Bedside Manner

    Do make eye contact and shake your patient’s hand. Don’t just stare at a chart, clipboard, or computer. Do stand up straight, smile, and try to sit at the same eye level as the person to whom you are talking. Don’t write, read, or look away while they are answering your questions.

    3. Let the Patient Explain the Problem

    Let the patient describe in their own words how they feel, what their symptoms are, how long they have felt that way, and why they came to see you. Oftentimes the patient will provide information or insights that you would otherwise miss, and that can be critically important. The tone they use and the words they choose can also be key indicators of their level of well-being or stress.

    4. Reassure Patients and Family Members

    You don’t have to make promises in order to offer reassurance. Let patients and family know they are in good hands and that you will do everything to help them and try to ensure their comfort. If you don’t verbalize that, they may not feel safe or secure, and a little reassurance can emotionally and psychologically aid in a faster recovery.

  • Warning Signs of Caregiver Fatigue

    Warning Signs of Caregiver Fatigue

    Caring for others, although rewarding, can be an extremely strenuous experience with caregiver fatigue being a rather common occurrence. Caregivers may not just be physically worn-out, but they may also be emotionally drained or psychologically depleted.

    Warning Signs of Caregiver Fatigue

    Making sacrifices for the benefit of others is noble, but to continue in a sustainable way, you also need to make sure than you take care of yourself and your own health and well being. So here is a list of telltale warning signs of caregiver fatigue that can help you realize when fatigue is setting in, so that you can do what is necessary to recharge your batteries, rest, and recuperate.

    Warning Signs of Caregiver Fatigue

      • You have less energy to do the things you typically enjoy, or you are losing interest in the activities you normally enjoy.
      •  You are more susceptible to getting sick, coming down with colds and flu, or you feel achy and grouchy all the time.
      • Even if you take some “me” time and rest or have a nap, you still feel tired-out and exhausted.
      • Your schedule is so hectic that you have to skip things that are really meaningful to you – or you feel like you are constantly in a state of emergency and chaos.
      • Although you are devoted to caring for others, you are not feeling rewarded and satisfied from that endeavor.
      •  You overreact to situations and lose your cool, or those you are trying to care for make you feel irritated and upset.
      •  You are eating, drinking, or otherwise overindulging in ways that are unhealthy and not like your normal behavior.
      • You toss and turn at night or have frequent nightmares.
      • Your appetite is not healthy enough and you are skipping meals and losing more weight than is healthy – for example, more than two pounds per week.
      • Resentment or jealousy or anger are emotions that you feel more and more, despite having many things for which you actually feel grateful.

    If you notice that you are starting to register any warning signs of caregiver fatigue – or multiple symptoms on this list – seek the support and help of others. Talk to your doctor, for example, and set aside time to heal and refresh yourself so that you can continue to serve as a caregiver without neglecting your own important care. For more information, check out this great resource on HelpGuide.org.

  • Two Effective Stretches for Healthcare Workers

    Two Effective Stretches for Healthcare Workers

    Healthcare workers are typically on their feet all day, leaning over to help lift patients in a way that can put considerable strain on the body – especially the lower back. You may also work in a health care setting where you are relegated to doing lots of paperwork at the computer. But sitting for long periods of time also creates others kinds of muscular tension and can also be dangerous to your health.

    Two Effective Stretches for Healthcare Workers

    effective stretches for healthcare workers

    Here are two easy stretches to help give you some healthy relief:

    Standing Side Stretch

    • Stand with your feet together and your arms straight overhead. Put your hands together with fingers pointed toward the sky.
    • Now take a long deep breath, and as you inhale reach upward and extend your arms.
    • With arms extended and fingers still pointing bend at the waist to move and tilt your upper body to the right. As you perform this movement slowly exhale.
    • Maintain this side stretch for the length of 2-3 slow deep breaths. Then slowly return to center, to your original position.
    • Repeat the side bend, this time on the left side.

    Cobra Pose

    • Lie on the floor on an exercise mat, face down, and place your palms on the floor at your shoulders – so that your thumbs are right beneath your shoulders.
    • Keep legs extended and together with the tops of your feet on the floor and the soles of your feet facing the sky.
    • As you engage the muscles of your abs and core, tuck your hips downward and also pull the shoulders downward away from your ears.
    • Pushing with your palms, gently raise your chest as you take a long, deep inhale. Keep your head upright as you push your chest out and press your palms into the floor.
    • Exhale as you relax back into your original prone position. Repeat this exercise 3-5 times.

    To further ensure your health and well being, sign up for a free stretching class or beginning yoga class in your community. Many hospitals offer this kind of class for free to their employees, or you can find out about other opportunities by asking someone in the physical therapy or human resources department where you work.