I think it’s best in this situation that the first thing to do is ‘Reassure Naila to ease her worries and concerns.’ The psychological, emotional and physiological factors to the patient’s condition need to be addressed. The fact that she has had this problem since the birth of her children, the fact it has affected her dailiy habits (bowels, urination, sex) can have a massive detremential affect on her identity. Compassion of the nurse role in this situation should be immediately apparent, explain that this can and does happen to women after childbirth. You’re establishing a relationship, trust and partnership with the patient, as a nurse you’d be reassuring her that this issue can be overcome. Then moving forward from this phase you could ‘Find out more about her experience of the condition before offering advice on treatment options.’ this can be done with the patient, to ensure she’s a part of the shared decision process, again building upon the nurse-patient relationship. Finally ‘You already know the reason for the consultation, so offer advice and treatment options straight away.’ would follow the other two steps. If this was the immediate action of the nurse, it seems pretty shallow to disregard the patient’s feelings and involve her in the treatment options.
I believe my approach is in agreement with Zaras, it seems like the most compassionate in my opinion. And I agree with Sarah’s points about understanding the patient’s feelings. To Dans point, I can understand why you would need to process the right level of information about the condition beforehand. And to a degree I agree with it as a future male practitioner, as it’s a condition I’ll never be afflicted with so I want to be prepared with as much knowledge as possible. However, from my experiences I would still focus more on reassuring the patient from a professional care giver perspective first.
