Boundaries in the Nurse-Patient Relationship
- Material- Physical property
- Social- Culture and how individuals are expected to behave in social situations
- Personal- “physical distance boundaries” and “emotional boundaries”
- Professional- limit and outline expectations for appropriate professional relationships with patients. Concerns associated include:-
- Self-disclosure
- Gift-giving
- Types of touch- Functional-professional, Social-polite, Friendship-warmth, Love-intimacy, Sexual arousal
- Friendship or romantic association
- Warning signs that indicate that professional boundaries of the nurse–patient relationship may be in jeopardy
- Favoring one patient’s care over another’s
- Keeping secrets with a patient
- Changing dress style when working with a particular patient
- Swapping patient assignments to care for a particular patient
- Giving special attention or treatment to one patient over others
- Spending free time with a patient
- Frequently thinking about the patient when away from work
- Sharing personal information or work concerns with the patient
- Receiving of gifts or continued contact and communication with the patient after discharge
