The quality of the care you provide to your patients is important for them in so many ways. Of course you need to maintain a certain level of professionalism with patients, visitors, and the medical professionals you work with. But overlooking the importance of bedside manner in nursing reduces the quality of the care that you have taken an oath to provide to the patients under your care.

Doctors are often more focused on the conditions and symptoms that patients are suffering from and finding the appropriate course of treatment for those symptoms and conditions. Due to this situation, their genuine concern for patents is not always conveyed. This can result in patients not feeling as if they can or should discuss symptoms they are experiencing, possible questions they have, and the fears they are keeping to themselves with the doctor. Many people feel more comfortable sharing this information with a nurse who has a friendly bedside manner. Therefore it is vital that you remember the importance of having a good, friendly bedside manner. You may often be the only bridge between the doctors getting the information needed to treat the patient better, and a patient understanding that not fully disclosing these things can seriously affect the outcome of their treatment.

For patients suffering from serious illnesses or injuries, the level of bedside manner provided by the nursing professionals caring for them, often takes on a greater significance. Your beside manner is integral to the recovery process of your patients. Think about it from the standpoint of the patient. Coping with an illness or injury and the treatment they must undergo for recovery is a time filled with fear and stress. They may also be dealing with symptoms such as pain, shock, confusion, nausea, light headedness, stiffness, lessened or complete loss of mobility, and sleep and appetite changes. The level of fear and stress is often heightened when a patient is hospitalized for treatment. The unfamiliar settings of a hospital can be very distressing to patients who are stressed because they are sick, injured, or having surgery.

Treatments can be uncomfortable or even painful. Patients may perceive their conditions to be worse than they are and their prognosis dismal, and may keep these feelings to themselves. Patients can easily become overwhelmed by the fear and stress they are feeling and not hear or understand what the doctor is telling them about their condition, the recommended treatment, and the risks involved. This will increase a patient's level of fear and stress which can worsen their condition and make it harder to treat them successfully. Family and friends may also increase a patient's level of fear and stress. They are themselves confused and scared because their loved one is ill or injured. Without meaning to, they may transfer their fears, confusion, and stress onto the patient whose body is already struggling under the weight of a medical condition. In these situations, the importance of bedside manner in nursing cannot be overstated. Displaying a calm, friendly demeanor to patients and their families can reassure them and reduce their fears and stress.

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