Reflection On Transference

Reflect on a Clinical Experience with Transference and Counter-Transference Transference is when a patient unconsciously redirects their feelings about another person, condition, or experience onto other people. In the clinical setting, this is typically redirected onto the patient’s family members, nursing staff, or other medical personnel. One example of transference that I have encountered in clinical was on the telemetry floor. My patient was elderly and had some generalized weakness and hand shakiness/tremors. A previous nurse also noted that he had a tongue tremor, so ETOH protocols were started and Ciwa assessments done regularly. The patient was visibly angry every time that we asked about his drinking habits at home. He even yelled

It is possible that the patient was irritable that night, but it is also possible that the nurse did not take the time to understand how the patient wished to be cared for. I think that understanding my patient’s connection to his spirituality helped me see a larger side of his holistic needs, and may have been an intervention that could have been implemented earlier. Nursing can at times be stressful, which can lead nurses to be impatient or rushed when working with patients with complex needs. It is necessary for us to recognize our weaknesses as nurses and adapt our abilities to cater to all patients. For example, when a patient is frustrated and acting out verbally to the staff, it would be necessary to address exactly why these feelings are present. When the nurse spread the word that the patient was more difficult to work with, the oncoming nurse was immediately wary of that patient. While not all nurses will take that kind of information to heart, some will. It will impact the quality of care that the patient deserves because the nurse will more likely spend her time with her other patients, than with the difficult patients. His needs may not be fully met because the nurse wanted to avoid any difficult