Term
| Giving (False) Reassurance |
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Definition
| Indicates that there is not cause for anxiety or worry, thereby devaluing the patient’s feelings. EXAMPLES: “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.”, “Everything will be alright.” |
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Term
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Definition
| Refusing to consider or showing contempt for the patient’s ideas or behavior. EXAMPLES: “Let’s not discuss …”, “I don’t want to hear about…” |
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Term
| Giving approval or disapproval |
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Definition
| Denouncing or sanctioning the patient’s ideas or behavior, this implies that the nurse has the right to pass judgment on whether the patient’s idea or behaviors are “good” or “bad”. EXAMPLES: “That’s good! I’m glad you did that.”, “That’s bad, you shouldn’t have done that.” |
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Term
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Definition
| Indicating accord with or opposition to the patient’s ideas or opinions, this implies that the nurse has the right to pass judgment on whether the patient’s ideas, opinions are “right” or “wrong”. EXAMPLES: “That’s right, I agree.”, “That’s wrong, I disagree.” |
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Term
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Definition
| Telling the patient what to do, telling the patient what they should think or how they should behave, this implies that the nurse knows what is best and that the patient is incapable of self-direction. EXAMPLES: “I think you should…”, “Why don’t you…” |
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Term
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Definition
| Persistent questioning of the patient, pushing for answers to issues or questions that the patient does not want to talk about. |
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Term
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Definition
| Attempting to protect someone or something from verbal attack. EXAMPLES: “No one here would lie to you, everyone is so nice.”, “Your doctor is really great, he wouldn’t do something like that.” |
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Term
| Requesting an Explanation |
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Definition
| Asking the patient to provide the reasons for thoughts, feelings, behavior, and events; asking “why” questions which can be very intimidating and implies the patient has to defend themselves. EXAMPLES: “Why did you do that?” |
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Term
| Indicating the Existence of an External Source of Power |
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Definition
| Attributing the source of thoughts, feelings, and behavior to others or to outside influences; this encourages the patient to project blame for their thoughts or behaviors rather than accepting responsibility. EXAMPLES: “What makes you say that?”, “What made you so angry last night?” |
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Term
| Belittling Feelings Expressed |
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Definition
| Misjudging the degree of the patient’s comfort. Equaling the feeling of the patient with those of “everybody” or yourself implies the patient’s discomfort is temporary, mild, and self-limiting. EXAMPLES: The patient says, “I have nothing to live for. I wish I were dead.”, the nurse replies, “Everybody gets down in the dumps at times. I feel that way myself sometimes.” |
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Term
| Making Stereotyped Comments |
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Definition
| Clichés or trite expressions are meaningless in a nurse-patient relationship. EXAMPLES: “I’m fine, how are you?”, “Keep your chin up.” |
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Term
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Definition
| When the nurse denies that a problem exists, the nurse is then blocking discussions with the patient and avoids helping the patient. EXAMPLES: The patient says, “I’m nothing.”, the nurse replies, “Of course your something. Everybody is somebody.” |
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Term
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Definition
| Seeking to make conscious that which is unconscious, telling the patient the meaning of their experience. EXAMPLES: “What you really mean is…”, “Unconsciously you’re saying…” |
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Term
| Introducing an Unrelated Topic |
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Definition
| Changing the subject, when a nurse changes the subject or introduces one then they are directing the conversation and the initiative is taken away from the patient. EXAMPLES: The patient states, “I don’t have anything to live for.”, the nurse replies, “What would you like to eat for dinner tonight.” |
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