What to know and how to get to know? A fieldwork study outlining the understanding of knowing the patient in facilities for short-term stay.
OBJECTIVE
To report a descriptive study of nursing in facilities for short-term stay aiming to outline what 'knowing the patient' means in an endoscopic outpatient clinic.


BACKGROUND
'Knowing the patient' is indispensable to the effort of tailoring nursing to the individual patient's needs. Structural changes in the practice environments, however, reduce the amount of time a nurse spends getting to know the patient. Despite recent years' focus on the subject, no uniform description of 'knowing the patient' in facilities for short-term stay exists.


METHODS
A fieldwork study influenced by practical ethnographic principles was performed in a high-technology endoscopic outpatient clinic during 2008-2010.


METHODS
Data were collected using participant observation for 12 weeks and semi-structured interviews with eight patients and four nurses.


RESULTS
Findings were summarized into two categories 'What to know?' and 'How to get to know?' The former concerned practical issues in relation to gastroscopy and was described in terms of the patient's level of anxiety, wish for medication and previous experiences. The latter 'How to get to know?' concerned instruments employed in getting to know the patient and was described in terms of the use of communication and sensing.


CONCLUSIONS
'Knowing the patient' in the endoscopic outpatient clinic was understood in a very practical sense. Conversation and the use of the eyes and physical touch enabled a situational awareness. It helped tailor nursing to the patient's needs and allowed the nurse to treat every patient as a unique individual.
Department of Production, The Faculties of Engineering, Science and Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark. karinmik@rm.dk
Karin
K
Bundgaard
Karl Brian
KB
Nielsen
Charlotte
C
Delmar
Erik Elgaard
EE
Sørensen
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D003718:Denmark; D005773:Gastroscopy / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D057240:Patient Preference; D012677:Sensation
D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives