The therapeutic relationship: dead or merely impeded by technology?

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Technology
• Patient Care

Background:

• Current nurse education delivery methods are evolving.
• Rapid technological advancements are transforming healthcare.
• These changes significantly impact patient care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of evolving nurse education and healthcare technology on the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship.
• To explore the essential knowledge and skills for forming therapeutic relationships.
• To investigate whether simulated learning and ubiquitous computing impede these essential skills.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and critical analysis of current trends in nursing education and healthcare technology.
• Exploration of theoretical frameworks for the therapeutic relationship.
• Discussion of challenges in assessing the therapeutic relationship.

Main Results:

• The shift in nurse education and technology may be detrimental to the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship.
• Key competencies for therapeutic relationships might be hindered by simulated learning and pervasive computing.
• Assessing the therapeutic relationship is complex and requires new approaches.

Conclusions:

• The core of nursing, the therapeutic relationship, is at risk due to educational and technological shifts.
• There is a need to re-evaluate educational strategies to preserve and foster therapeutic relationship skills.
• A new framework for assessing the understanding and performance of therapeutic relationship formation is proposed.