What can nurses do to improve informed consent?
Think about consent as a process to assure patient understanding and agreement, not just signing a form.
Informed consent should be a collaborative activity between the physician, nurse, and patient. The physician should have obtained consent before the nurse has the patient sign a form.
Nurses can offer what we do best—patient teaching, as we check patient understanding and obtain written consent. Where possible, use the teach-back method, asking the patient to repeat back what he/she understands. However, our teaching cannot take the place of prior physician / patient shared decision-making.
Assess for paternalism – from the physician, from yourself. We understand so much more than the patient and are trying to help, but we cannot pressure or tell a patient what to do.
Consenting to treatment is scary. As much as possible, obtain consent in a quiet and calm setting, with time to answer questions.