As a nurse, we need to learn to see past only the challenging behaviour patient shows. Like in Finley’s case, patient may not know how to express their pain or their needs. We need to learn to look at the patient as a whole and not just focus on their negative behaviour or challenging physical behaviour. Better understanding and awareness of mental health issues is also useful. Also need to reflect on our communication skills – can we adapt it to diferent patients with different needs? Can we actively listen to the patient and make effort to connect to the patient? This might mean using a different tone of voice, speaking in clear and simple sentences, using a different form of language, or even changing the environment or taking them to a different location where they seem more calm. We can also check with family/carers about what the patient’s normal behaviour is to understand more about what is different and why that may be happenning.
