Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ posts with respectful and thoughtful questions and/or suggestions to challenge or expand on their thinking.2 references to each colleague Colleague TNH
Human rights in healthcare are fundamentally about making sure everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, has the basic right to be as healthy as possible, both in body and mind. These aren’t just nice ideas; countries have created laws and practices that guarantee everyone can get quality healthcare and tackle the unfair health differences caused by things like being poor or facing discrimination. It really means looking at all healthcare with the key idea of treating everyone equally and fairly. Social justice in healthcare then focuses on making sure treatment and the standard of care are fair across the board, with a special emphasis on helping those who’ve been pushed to the margins so that things become more equal. At the end of the day, making the right to health a reality often looks like universal health coverage, aiming to make healthcare affordable and accessible to all. [Olejarczyk & Young, 2025; World Health Organization, 2023]
The therapeutic relationship, or what some call the working alliance, is really about the connection between the healthcare person and their patient. This connection is super important for helping people get better. Bordin (1979) pointed out that it has a few key parts: both agreeing on what you’re working towards, agreeing on how you’ll get there by making decisions together, and having a real, positive bond between the patient and the therapist. A good therapeutic alliance puts the patient at the center, making sure their needs and what’s important to them guide the decisions. This relationship thrives on both people being involved and working together, like partners. Good communication, actively listening, and understanding where the patient is coming from are key to building and keeping this strong connection. [DeAngelis, 2019; Physiopedia, 2024]
One great thing is when you both agree on the goals; it makes the patient more likely to stick with things, which helps them get better results and feel more satisfied and motivated, and that positive atmosphere helps the relationship. Another advantage is making decisions together, where the patient gets the information and feels supported in making choices; this really strengthens the connection and respects their right to decide what happens to them. Having a solid bond built on trust, understanding, and good dialog is also a big win, as it’s the heart of a strong therapeutic alliance. On the other hand, things often don’t go well when patients are left out of setting goals and decisions are simply made for them, which can lead to them feeling unhappy and hurting the relationship. Also, poor communication, for example, not actively listening or understanding, can be a barrier to the relationship by breaking trust and making it hard to connect. Lastly, if the healthcare professional takes a “my way or the highway” approach without really considering what the patient values, it can make the patient feel as if they don’t have a say, leading to a strained relationship. [DeAngelis, 2019; Olejarczyk & Young, 2025; Physiopedia, 2024]
References:
- Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 16(3), 252–260.
- DeAngelis, T. (2019). Better relationships with patients lead to better outcomes. Monitor on Psychology, 50(10), 38.
- Olejarczyk, J. P., & Young, M. (2025). Patient Rights and Ethics. StatPearls.
- Physiopedia. (2024). Therapeutic Alliance. Retrieved from https://www.physio-pedia.com/Therapeutic_AllianceLinks to an external site.
- World Health Organization. (2023, December 1). Human rights. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/human-rights-and-healthLinks to an external site.
Colleague YEO
Another key area that is impacted by social and cultural diversity is variety in healthcare outcomes. According to research, patients who receive care from healthcare professionals who are culturally competent typically have better health outcomes, Improved treatment compliance, more patient satisfaction, and fewer health inequalities between various social and cultural groups are a few examples of this.
In order to provide patient advocacy that respects each patient’s uniqueness, it is imperative to comprehend the effects of cultural and socioeconomic diversity in healthcare. We can build a healthcare system that is more inclusive and equitable for everyone by funding cultural competence training and encouraging diversity in healthcare outcomes.
Having said that there are key elements of a therapeutic relationship these are :unconditional acceptance, empathy, genuineness, attending and listening, and silence.
Unconditional Acceptance
Regardless of our patient’s origin, race, social status, or ailment upon presentation, unconditional acceptance ought to take place. To build a relationship with them, we must treat them equally and utilize our therapeutic selves.
Empathy
We should show empathy. Empathy is different from sympathy. Empathy is when we feel with a person, not for a person. Empathy is feeling from the inside outward. It is when we can see with the eyes of another person, listen with their ears, and feel with their heart.
Genuineness
Genuineness cannot really be learned. For example, when we enter patient rooms, we interact with the patients and families with our clearest, most genuine, and most honest selves as we treat them. I have personally seen situations where some nurses treat and talk to patients like nonliving things. I and a colleague at work had this conversation one time, and she said sometimes we nurses are overwhelmed by the patient-to-ratio rate, etc., hence not relating well with patients.
Listening
When you are talking with a patient or their family, especially on topics like ventilator weaning or trach weaning, it can be scary for the families. or make them walk after they have not walked for three weeks or after getting a new heart, as nurses, we should listen to their concerns and not interrupt or get angry when they ask certain questions. We should not assume they should know or not be asking certain questions.
Sufleta, A. (2024, May 22). Diversity, equity, and inclusion. American Nurse. https://www.myamericannurse.com/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/
Marjadi, B., Flavel, J., Baker, K., Glenister, K., Morns, M., Triantafyllou, M., Strauss, P., Wolff, B., Procter, A. M., Mengesha, Z., Walsberger, S., Qiao, X., & Gardiner, P. A. (2023). Twelve tips for inclusive practice in healthcare settings. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(5), 4657. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054657