Trusted Partnerships and Professional Boundaries

Flashcards covering concepts of trusted partnerships, types of relationships, professional boundaries, transference, countertransference, and power differential in nursing.

When fostering trusted partnerships in healthcare, the primary professional responsibility of the nurse is to focus on:

The flourishing and welfare (Shalom) of individuals.

A nurse is developing a partnership with a patient. Key characteristics indicative of this relationship include:

Close mutual cooperation, common interests, shared responsibilities, privileges, and power.

A nurse identifies a key distinction between a social relationship and a therapeutic relationship. The fundamental difference in focus is that a therapeutic relationship is primarily:

Patient-centered, whereas a social relationship focuses on mutual growth and equality.

The paramount objective for a nurse in a therapeutic relationship is to achieve which of the following for the patient?

To facilitate improvement in their health, promote their personal development, and assist them in finding meaning in their current circumstances.

According to nursing theorist Copenhagen, a 'personal relationship' is characterized by the nurse's role in:

Promoting the development of the other person and assisting them in finding meaning within their present situation.

A new graduate nurse is reviewing essential documents for ethical practice and professional boundaries. Which professional organization's resource would be most pertinent?

The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics.

A patient offers a nurse a small gift as a token of gratitude. The most appropriate initial response by the nurse is to:

Be mindful of cultural practices but prioritize adherence to institutional policy regarding the acceptance of such tokens.

A former patient contacts a nurse with an invitation to dinner, remarking, 'You were more than a nurse, you were a friend.' The nurse's most professional and therapeutic response should be:

Politely decline the invitation, explaining that while the care provided was a privilege and appreciated, maintaining professional boundaries is essential.

A patient consistently refers to the nurse as having similar traits or reactions as a significant person from their past, sometimes displacing feelings onto the nurse. This dynamic is best understood as:

Transference, where the patient unconsciously and inappropriately displaces past feelings and behaviors onto the nurse.

Which patient statement best exemplifies the concept of transference in a nurse-patient relationship?

'You remind me so much of my mother/sister/aunt.'

A nurse develops an intense emotional response, feeling overly protective of a patient due to the patient's resemblance to the nurse's own family member. This situation illustrates:

Countertransference, where the nurse unconsciously displaces their own feelings onto the patient.

Which internal thought of a nurse during patient care best indicates the presence of countertransference?

'This patient reminds me of my son did at six months,' or 'This patient looks just like my daughter when she was a kindergartner.'

The primary reason why transference and countertransference are considered detrimental to a therapeutic relationship is that they can:

Blur professional boundaries, potentially causing the nurse to alter care delivery or condone behaviors that fall below professional standards.

In a nurse-patient interaction, the concept of a 'power differential' fundamentally refers to:

An inherent imbalance in influence or control, such as the nurse's authority over medication administration or discharge planning.

What element is crucial for maintaining the health and effectiveness of therapeutic relationships regarding professional boundaries?

Clearly defined boundaries and established rules.