This week at the San Marcos Treatment Center, I got paired with young boys around the ages of 6-10. Although I was not paired with a girl group this week, I got to see how the Nurse Practitioner interviews and talks to adolescent girls. Speaking with the Nurse Practitioner and seeing her role as a nurse really helped me reflect back on the way I have been interviewing these children and allowed me to get a better look at how a professional interview should look like. Today I felt like I utilized my nursing knowledge when I reflected on what we have learned in class about the Interview process, used it to narrow in on interview techniques the Nurse Practitioner used, and used this prior knowledge and learned techniques in my own interviews this week.
The Nurse Practitioner I was with was interviewing new girl patients being admitted to the facility. I knew from class that the nursing process first consisted of conducting an assessment (which the Nurse Practitioner’s interviews fell under). I knew from what I had learned in class that one must first introduce themselves, then instill trust, and then give an overview of what should be expected in the interview. I think the Nurse Practitioner did an awesome job in making sure she followed through with each of these components in her interview even though she knew she would have to ask very personal questions to these individuals. For example, after introducing herself and instilling trust, the nurse let the patient’s know that she would have to ask them personal questions about their previous sex history. She made sure to make the girls feel that they weren’t being singled out and that these were questions she must ask to every adolescent girl being admitted. I think it was extremely important to make sure that these girls felt like they could open up to the nurse by instilling that trust in them and also making sure that they didn’t feel as if she was singling them out with these personal questions. Although this situation made me feel uncomfortable since I was the only male in the room and they were asking each girl individually about their sexual activity, I made sure to instill trust in these patients with myself by also introducing myself in the beginning and letting them know my role as a professional nursing student there.
Moreover, I noticed how the nurse also used the therapeutic techniques of active listening and clarification within her interview. The nurse made sure to define what she meant by “sex” and “sexual activity” with each girl and offered them clarification on what she was asking by defining the terms to them. Many of these girls had different interpretations of what they categorized as “sex”, so the Nurse’s use of clarification really helped me reflect on the nursing knowledge I’ve gathered in class about how important clarification is. After viewing how the Nurse Practitioner conducted her professional interview, I decided to go and try using some of these techniques with the children I had been paired with for that day. Prior to meeting with these children, I tried thinking of problems I may encounter with this different age group, so I used my prior nursing knowledge to acknowledge that interviewing this age group may be harder due to the fact that they are quite young and active and don’t like sitting down in one place for very long. To my dismay, these assumptions were quite accurate. I began my interview by introducing myself and ensuring that I built trust and a good environment to talk to the child I interviewed. I sat with him in a more isolated area, and began to interview him, but I could tell that he did not want to get interviewed since he kept looking at his friends from afar who were playing. I handled this situation by letting the child know that the interview wouldn’t take long and that he could go with his friends after I asked him a few questions. He seemed a lot more comfortable and compliant after I laid out the overview of the interview and how long it would take. I noticed that letting him know I wasn’t singling him out was important because he at first though he may have been in trouble. I clarified this confusion for him and let him know that the TLU nursing students here are just trying to get to know them and that we are not here to single any one out.
This event impacted me by having a new found appreciation for the interview techniques we have learned in class. While learning them in class, I never thought that I’d actually use some of these techniques in everyday life, but I now see that I was completely wrong. It was refreshing to see the Nurse Practitioner using these techniques we’ve learned in class, because it allowed me to see some of the things I’ve been doing wrong in my own interviews and techniques I could start implementing. This event has taught me that introducing oneself and instilling trust within the patient from the very beginning of the interview is highly important. If one does not tell the patient their professional role and gain their trust, they may not be as compliant or want to open up and talk to you. This event has also taught me how important it is to implement what we learn in class into our practice and into our everyday lives. For example, I now realize how important clarification is and how it can be used to make sure the listener is understanding what one is saying.
I will definitely be using what I’ve learned from this clinical day in my future clinical days, in my future practice as an RN, and in life in general. Before I conduct any future interviews, I will reflect back on today and ensure that I go into the interview knowing that I need to introduce myself, instill trust, and lay out an overview of what the patient should expect throughout the interview. This experience has allowed me to see how I need to change my current interview and therapeutic communication techniques and to really focus on not making the patient feel singled out or uncomfortable in any way.