Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu
Abstract
Introduction. The priority of modern nursing care is to treat a hospitalised patient in a holistic manner; in other words, all their biological, psychological, social and spiritual conditions must be taken into consideration. Human relationships in nursing care should take into account the subjectivity of an elderly patient, and the care should be individualised. However, relationships with an elderly patient encounter numerous ethical difficulties.Aim. This purpose of this paper was to show the communication styles most commonly used by nurses in respect of elderly hospitalised patients. Studies were carried out in March 2018 at several hospital departments (general medicine, neurology, cardiology) in the Lubuskie Province.Material and methods. The study method involved observations of the relationships and communication styles used by nurses during their daily activities in the patient care.Results. Based on the completed studies, it was found that egocentric was the most common communication style used by nurses, considered to be as a non-partner style. It was also demonstrated that, sometimes, activities were performed on patients without any communication.Conclusions. The problem should be observed and studied, and the communication style should be changed.Keywords: nurse, elderly person, relationships, communication styl