Attitude, behavior, compassion and dialogue: Care that focuses on patients’ dignity
Alazne Belar, who will soon begin her thesis in ICS’s ATLANTES Program, recalls in the project’s blog that, "the focus of care is the person, not her illness"
FOTO: Cedida
"Treat the patient, not the disease," as nurse Alazne Belar Beitia proposed in the blog that the ATLANTES Program of the Institute for Culture and Society maintains. Belar, who obtained both her undergraduate degree in nursing and her master's degree in palliative care from the University of Navarra, has been collaborating with ATLANTES for over two years. She will soon begin her doctoral thesis within the ATLANTES program in March 2017.
Citing psychiatrist Harvey Max Chochinov, a specialist in palliative care, Alazne Belar reminds us that there is scientific evidence that, "the way patients are viewed is a powerful mediator of their dignity." She went on to mention Dr. Chovhinov’s argument that, “The more healthcare professionals are able to affirm the value of the patient, that is, to see the person as she really is, instead of just the disease she suffers, the patient is more likely to retain her sense of dignity. "
Alazne Belar recommends that health professionals follow Chochinov’s ABCD method of care centered on dignity: A for Attitude, to reflect on one’s attitude towards the patient, B for Behavior, to be interested in what seems important to the patient, C for Compassion, to understand the patient’s suffering and to wish to relieve it, and D for Dialogue, to talk to the patient, getting to know him, in order to give him the best possible care.