COMPASSION FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

Thank you for Ken Stanton's Treating Mental Illness in the ED
(Viewpoint, December 2005). As many mental health care providers can
attest, the substandard care and intolerance psychiatric patients
receive are not confined to EDs.

Caregivers should remember that even patients who are homeless, drug
addicted, personality disordered, malingering, or schizophrenic can
tell their own stories. Their behavioral problems, irrespective of
diagnosis, are often driven by fear, powerlessness, and low
self-esteem-exacerbated by intolerance and indifference when they
most need compassion. A little understanding in an initial
interaction can mitigate behavioral problems, save time, and ensure
the good nursing care that all patients deserve.

Jeffrey J. Drury, RN

Johnston, RI