Why Patients Are More Honest with Nurses than Doctors

There are plenty of studies around the world regarding the most trusted professions in the workforce, and nurses are usually ranked higher than other others in these surveys. Actually, most of the time, nursing is regarded as the most trusted profession of them all. But why? It makes more sense for patients to trust doctors a lot more than nurses, especially because they determine the treatment plan for these patients. Yet, it's the nurse who has the most respect and trust in the healthcare industry.

Nurses are mostly at the patients' bedside, and many realize that they care. When patents aren't feeling well, they ask for nurses because doctors aren't there most of the time. When patients need a pillow, food or a glass of water, it's a nurse who fulfills their needs. While doctors are also on the high end of the list of trusted professionals, they aren't number one... ever. There are plenty of reasons for why nurses are trusted, like their honesty, the amount of contact they make, and their caring nature.

Honesty

They're honest. When a patient has a poor prognosis, it's the nurses who are trained to tell the truth to their patients and their family members. Doctors sometimes don't understand how to talk to their patients. Sometimes, they use medical terminology, which does nothing to connect to their patient at all. This is why nurses are often present when doctors speak to their patients. Patients will sometimes turn to the nurse to understand what the doctor just told them. But sometimes, this requires interpreting truths that are difficult to swallow. 

So, patients expect nurses to be more honest with them, especially since the connection between nurses and patients is often intimate. There needs to be a level of trust when letting someone insert a foley or start an IV. Patients trust nurses to be honest about the medications they're administering and to do so in a safest way. It's hard for patients, and honesty makes them feel more secure in their situation. Not everyone can feel safe if they think they are not receiving the full truth.

Contact Time

Nurses usually spend a large amount of their with patients. Actually, 99 percent of interactions patients have within the hospital are with nurses. For this reason, they trust the people who are always there. When a patient has a problem, when they're sick or in pain, they see the nurse's face more often. Nurses can also provide a solution, which increases a patient's trust in their nurse and skills. While patients don't really know what a nurse does, they do know that nurses are there for them and ready to help. 

Caring nature

A nurse's job is to care, and patients know that all too well. How? Well they usually see it in the way a nurse's tends to a patient's needs. It's a lot more than the medical side. It's also about the human side. Patients respond more to a nurse's humane side, their caring nature. For instance, caring for a patient's needs isn't part of the treatment plan. Getting someone a soda, for instance, shows more of a humane side that the patient might be missing. Doctors aren't able to offer little things like that sometimes.

When a patient feels cared for, it leads to a strong level of trust. Not only do nurses provide a patient with medical needs, they are also there to hold their hand. When patients are most vulnerable, nurses step in and fulfill their needs with compassion. 

This is why nurses are more respected and trusted by patients