Trust and its meaning varies among individuals; with many
participants describing interpersonal trust as very different
from trust in a health care provider. As a result of these
variations in the perceptions and meaning of trust, it is
imperative that all patients be individually assessed for level
of trust, as mistrust and/or loss of trust may cause patients to
become hyper vigilant, uncooperative and refuse treatments.
Many patients come to a health care situation already
trusting the health care providers based on the providers
position, such as being a nurse, because a certain level of
expertise is expected. However, this cannot be assumed, as all
patients are unique. Consequently, other patients come into
the same type of situation with reluctance and only after
assessing the health care provider, will they develop trust?
Trust in health care providers is fragile and we, as nurses,
must continually work to develop and maintain our patient’s
trust for once lost, it is nearly impossible to rebuild.