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Student nurse, Elena Ivany, debates the pros and cons of clear communication In modern healthcare, patients have an intrinsic right to receive as much information about their care and
condition as they require. Individuals can request to read their notes, participate in the clinical decision-making process and medical professionals must ensure that all patients are aware
of the implications of any treatments or procedures being administered. Yet, despite this drive to ensure that all patients are kept well informed, situations do occur when clients are kept
in the dark about decisions that affect their care and their health. Clearly, forcing a patient to deal with a barrage of medical information is neither necessary nor appropriate. While some
clients thrive on having access to facts and figures, others prefer to rely on their nurses’ and doctors’ knowledge and experience. Given the nurse’s role as a patient advocate, it falls to
nurses to know each client’s individual requirements so as to facilitate the provision of relevant and personalised information that will educate, support and reassure the patient. Equally,
there are occasions when a patient may not be able to understand or process key information, in which case much of the decision making will need to be made by the inter-professional team in
conjunction with the client’s next of kin. But what of situations where the patient does have the capacity to understand and does want to access information and advice about treatment but
has received a negative prognosis? In such situations, is honesty still the best policy? I know of a patient who is receiving palliative care for terminal cancer. The prognosis is not good
and the medical team are keen to transfer them to a hospice, a decision that the patient doesn’t agree with. Part of the problem, as I have come to realise, is the fact that the patient is
lacking key pieces of information about their own medical condition and the type of care they are receiving. As a result, they are being asked to make important decisions based on a rather
murky mix of beliefs and medical half-truths. If honesty is in fact a key element of nursing care, then would it not be the nurse’s duty to encourage an open dialogue between the patient,
her family and her healthcare team? Furthermore, would allowing the patient to access all the information required to make important decisions not be considered an aspect of the nurse’s role
as a patient advocate? Although the idea of truthfulness is often simpler than the practice of speaking the truth, I feel that it is right that nurses should have open discussions with
patients, whatever their’ condition. While doctors may be the ones to diagnose, nurses are the ones to care, guide and support and, for this reason, it seems vital that nurses always remain
honest with their patients.