Mr. Simpson is a 78-year old patient whose wife died last year.He has been living alone. He has limited cooking skills; thus heeats out a lot. Since his wife died, his blood sugar has beenpoorly controlled. To help Mr. Simpson gain better blood sugarcontrol, the dietitian came to see him. After she left, Mr. Simpsonwas angry and stated his desire to leave the hospital right now. Hestated, “That diet person came to see me and she doesn’t knowanything.”
1. How would you approach Mr. Simpson? Which communicationtechniques would you use and which would you avoid?
2. You talk with the dietician and learn that she gave thepatient information about his diet and recipes that he could try.As you talk further with Mr. Simpson, you learn that the physiciantold him he might not be able to live alone anymore. You realizethat he doesn’t know how to cook. Knowing this, how would yourespond to him?
3.. After talking with Mr. Simpson, you determine that he isable to care for himself at home but will need some assistance. Heis willing to consider various options for meal preparation. Youcall the physician to discuss this. Your hospital has establishedSBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) as a standardcommunication tool. How do you effectively communicate yourconcerns and the patient’s need to the physician using SBAR?
