Understanding Patients

In an ideal world people from every walk of life receive fair and equal treatment, especially within health care settings. When patients feel misunderstood or disrespected, they are less likely to advocate for themselves or seek health care. The students in the Clemson Advocacy in Nursing: Exploring the Role of the Nurse Advocate Creative Inquiry project, mentored by Janice Lanham and Dr. Margaret Wetsel in the School of Nursing, take these issues to heart.

The project focuses on identifying and addressing perceptions of patients and their families in the earliest stages of a nursing student’s education. These perceptions can be formed based on socioeconomic status, gender, weight or cultural background, among other factors. In health care settings, unintentional biases may lead to differences in patient care. The Creative Inquiry team measures these thoughts and behaviors with the Implicit-Association Test (IAT) from Harvard University. The IAT uses picture and word association to identify perceptions of patients in relation to specific groups of people and take proactive steps to counteract the effects.

To help combat this phenomenon, the team implemented a program with first-year nursing majors at Clemson. In the program, nursing majors may take the IAT and complete a best intentions questionnaire which offers insights into participants’ thought processes and potential biases. By providing opportunities for students to acknowledge their misconceptions and to participate in an education program, they can be more aware going forward about how they may respond to patients and their families. “It’s okay to sit outside the patient’s room, read through their chart and understand that you may have some misconceptions, but here’s how you’re going to mitigate it, here’s how you’re going to improve that patient’s care before you even go in the room,” Sophia Pomeroy, a senior nursing major, said.

This program allows students to develop awareness and recognize potential bias early in their nursing education. The Creative Inquiry team also offers an Advocacy in Nursing course each semester, exploring topics of interest to promote patient safety and quality care. These future nurses will be well-prepared to deliver high-quality nursing care by actively addressing and managing their unintended perceptions of patients.