Reassure

How it is used

A central nursing skill with anxious patients and relatives. In the notes: 'patient reassured', 'reassurance given'. Good reassurance is honest: nurses explain what is happening without promising things they cannot know, such as 'Everything will be fine.'

Example sentences

1. She was frightened before the scan, so I stayed with her and tried to reassure her.

2. I reassured his wife that we would call her if anything changed.

Common collocations

• reassure the patient
• reassure the family
• try to reassure
• give reassurance

Related terms

• next of kinThe person closest to a patient, usually a family member or partner, who is contacted first with news about them.
• visiting hoursThe times of day when friends and family are allowed to visit patients on a ward.
• interpreterA trained person who translates spoken conversation between a patient and staff who do not share a language, in person, by phone or by video.
• informed consentA patient's agreement to a treatment or procedure, given freely after they have been told and have understood what it involves, its risks, benefits and alternatives.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• reassure · Medicine

More terms: Talking to Patients and Families

• call bell
• pass away
• palliative care