Nurses give tips on caring for patients with rare conditions

Knowing your patients and being able to communicate with them about their care is crucial. But that can be difficult when it comes to rare medical conditions.

According to the National Institutes of Health, there are more than 7,000 conditions and diseases that are considered rare. Even with years of education and experience, it can still prove challenging to prepare someone for the treatment of an uncommon condition.

“How do you treat patients who are deemed ‘untreatable?’” asked ScrubsMag. “What can you do as a nurse to ensure their care and comfort? Where can you go for resources?”

“Nurses must create meaningful engagements with patients in order to educate them about their health, their treatment, and ensure that they follow their treatment plan when they are discharged,” noted The HIPPA Journal.

“The benefits of effective communication in nursing require an understanding of the patient and the experiences they express. This communication requires skills and simultaneously the sincere intention of the nurse to understand what concerns the patient,” said Tiger Connect.

When dealing with uncommon conditions, there’s nothing like getting advice from a trusted colleague or mentor. ScrubsMag shared some tips from their own readers:

• “Ask your patient questions… Interview docs who have experience in treating chronic illness.” — Raine M.
• “Let Google be your friend!” — Duncan M.
• “Talk to your patient. You’ll never find a better source of information. And again, I say treat every patient like they’re the only patient you have. It’s served me well for over 40 years.” — Bill M.
• “Don’t treat the person like some odd creature. Just be professional, caring and informative. Joke with them, if they are up to it. I have found that patients know more about what is going on than we think. Families, on the other hand, are clueless most of the time.” — Bruce B.
• Don’t make them feel like you are skeptical. Nobody knows everything out there in the medical field.” — Christopher G.
• “Try to connect and, as always, document, document, document.” — Scott D.