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Online Companion: Fundamentals of Nursing Standards and Practice 2E
In Chapter 11, the authors elaborate on the art of nursing and the heart of nursing. The therapeutic relationship that the nurse establishes with the client is described as an antidote to the depersonalizing effects of high-technology health care. In the therapeutic relationship the nurse uses interpersonal skills to promote health and to restore optimal functioning to the client. It is the vehicle for the nurse's expression of caring behaviors toward the client. Concepts of caring have been elaborated by Watson, Leininger and Benner. The centrality of caring to nursing is agreed upon by these theorists. While caring is partly an intuitive process, the authors discuss specific caring behaviors that can be learned. The therapeutic relationship
differs from the social relationship in that the nurse-client relationship is
planned and goal-directed. Communication is planned and clear boundaries are
set for the nurse and the client. Each of the three phases of the therapeutic
relationship, orientation, working, and termination, has specific goals and
objectives and methods. It is through the vehicle of the therapeutic relationship
that the nurse enacts the variety of roles associated with helping clients.
Caregiver, counselor, teacher, client advocate, change agent, resource person
are identified roles within nursing.
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