Question

A patient is admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia. The patient is very anxious and has been hospitalized in the past. The nurse has not performed the admission assessment. How might the nurse approach this patient to ease his anxiety?

Answer 1

Ans) Controlled breathing is one of the simplest ways nurses can help patients manage their anxiety. Deep breathing forces the mind, heart and body to slow down, countering the side effects of stress. Nurses have many options when taking their patients through breathing exercises.

- Tip 1: You can help reduce or even avoid patients or families’ anxiety by listening to patients. Even asking patients at the onset how they are feeling could keep them from going into relief-behavior mode.

Tip 2: Reduce anxiety by introducing yourself and your role and orienting patients and families to whatever is to follow. Focus on patients by asking questions about their work, children and other aspects of their personal lives, which may also help keep patients calm. The message here, too, is that you are interested in them as people, not just as patients.

Tip 3: Another relief behavior that can occur due to anxiety is that the individual learns from this emotion. Being calm, answering questions, getting information the patient needs that you may not have, and being reassuring can do much to help the patient and/or his family move from a highly negative emotional level to one in which they can be as comfortable as possible and ready to learn about, and take on the needed healthcare.