Hypoglycemia: Nurse Communication (Nursing)

00:01 So let's talk about how do you think like a nurse? What do we do? How do we take this information and really begin to think like a nurse a nurse scientist? Well step one, you know what it is.

00:13 It starts with an A, right there, ASSESS.

00:16 So you're going to ask questions to assess possible reasons for reoccurring and severe hypoglycemia.

00:23 I forgot to tell you the reason we're talking with our client here, This is Suzanne and the reason we're talking to Suzanne is because she's telling us that in doing our history, she's having a lot of episodes of pretty severe hypoglycemia.

00:38 So now we're on the case.

00:40 Now, you know the background.

00:42 Our job is to help Suzanne figure out what's going on.

00:46 So we're going to ask her questions because we know what the four main categories are that can cause hypoglycemia.

00:53 So we're thinking through what are the best questions and cues to look for in Suzanne.

01:00 So once we identify those we're going to plan, we're going to help Suzanne identify ways to prevent low blood sugar because what blood sugar kind of gets in the way of a normal life.

01:10 Remember the four causes we looked at these at the beginning in the series.

01:15 So let's walk through how you would talk to Suzanne knowing this information.

01:19 Now be careful to ask questions without sounding judgmental or condescending.

01:24 Think therapeutic communication.

01:27 Remember, it's not all I have help several patients.

01:30 No, no don't take the focus off of Suzanne and put it on yourself.

01:35 It's not all about us. It's all about patients like Suzanne.

01:39 So we've got these four categories.

01:41 Let's think through how you would do that and develop questions that you would ask.

01:46 So if you really want to be on your A-game, what I would do is pause the video and think of questions in your own words that you can ask a client to discover if it's one of these four categories that are problematic and causing her severe hypoglycemia.

02:04 I want to encourage all the patients to be proactive.

02:06 We've got a picture of a medical alert not a particularly attractive one there, but I'm here to tell you spend some time on the internet and they've got some gorgeous jewelry, but we want the patient to wear a medical alert bracelet or a necklace, something that will help others assist them in identifying that this patient has diabetes.

02:26 Okay, so if the patient is down and they can't speak for themselves a medical alert bracelet or necklace can communicate for them and this is a pretty traditional looking one.

02:37 I promised they've got some really beautiful pieces of jewelry now.

02:41 If you're willing to wear those so you want to encourage the patient to do that.

02:45 Let them know it's not a stigma.

02:47 It's not a label.

02:48 It's a life-saving measure in case they can't communicate.