Ann J. Brady, MSN, RN-BC, CHPN

A jovial message from a patient confirmed the value of counseling patients taking opioids for cancer pain on good BM practices.

Patients with cancer will eventually have to cope with unique feelings of loss. The loss of their future life plans. Fernweh, a German that means farsickness, may explain those feelings.

The term noncompliant assumes in part that the patient has accepted the premise of what they are instructed to comply with.

Nurses need to rethink their attitude toward those who are new to the profession, lead with compassion, and share their knowledge gained through experience.

How do you answer when the patient or family asks, “What is next?” More importantly, though, you need to recognize if they are asking that question, or is there something else they are really asking.

This simple framework for communicating can be adapted to fit each situation, regardless of it being a nurse-to-patient or a nurse-to-nurse setting.

Have you ever thought about what is meant — or understood — when you say to a patient “It’s going to be okay”? Hearing an exchange between her grandson and a pediatric nurse prompted Ann Brady to reflect on abbreviated communications.

Overwhelmed by her poor prognosis, a patient with a newly diagnosed advanced cancer cuts off communicating with her health care team.

Medical terminology can be a foreign language — or confusing, at the least — for many patients. Ann Brady uses a patient encounter to illustrate the potential miscommunication inherent in using “medicalese” in patient communication.

Although many physical expressions are universal, oncology nurses may be challenged to catch notice of more subtle body language from patients or a family member.