Quality time can improve healing
A lot of nurses go to work and go through a twelve hour shift by accomplishing tasks and keeping a busy mind. When I was on the other side of the spectrum as a patient receiving care, I was able to feel what really makes a difference in a patient's hospital experience. I was a sick person laying in a small bed, staring at the same wall for several days, connected to an IV tube, stuck in a confined environment, and what was most stressful for me and bothered me more than the pain I was feeling, was the loneliness that was taking over me. My family had to go on with their daily life obligations. My son had to go to school, my husband had to go to work, and I had no one to talk to for most of the day. As a nurse I go from one patient's room to another, talk to doctors, physical therapists, charge nurse, supervisors, managers, dietitians,and many other members of the healthcare team. The hospital then is not a lonely place.
After I experienced the loneliness of being alone in a room, I remember that I can make my patient's healing process so less depressive by spending more time with each one of them. I used to go in one room, introduce myself to the patient, identify the patient, do my assessment and administer medications. Task done, move on to another room.
Now I pay more attention to the patient's body language. Ask about their life outside of the hospital, and give them undivided attention, so they can express their feelings and fears.