Patients will pick up on your fears or prejudices faster than you are even aware of them. Your body does not lie. Your patients are a mirror. Their intuition immediately interprets your subtly raised eyebrow or the few extra inches you create between you and them. No less compassion is required of a nurse than if he or she were a rabbi or minister.

So what can you do?

As soon as you read a diagnosis, or hear something about a patient that produces an "ugh" or "yuck" within, take some extra time before you go into the room.

• Search: Scan your past like a recorder on rewind for any personal history. Just being aware of a past experience will help tremendously.
• Personalize: Always call the patient by his or her name, and ask the patient what he or she would like to be called.
• Imagine: Put yourself in the patient’s place. What must it feel like to be this patient under these circumstances?
• Be curious: What is this patient’s unique story? Sometimes you may have to do some searching. What is something you both have in common?
• Remember: Your value system is just that—yours.

Source: Stressed Out About Communication Skills, HCPro, Inc., 2007. Order your copy today.