customer svc the norm?

[Kitty Hawk]

Hello...

I didn't want to hijack another thread, but the topic there of "customer service" and "clients" vs patients and having comment cards is disturbing!

Is the the norm in all hospitals? I just got accepted into nursing school for a hospital that is known to be a "big hospital with a small hospital feel" so I would be surprised to see that they would follow this, but not sure if this is being mandated, it's recently been awarded magnet status if that makes a difference.

I am leaving the travel industry after 20 plus years and sick to death of the 'customer always right no matter what' and whining about insignificant things like seat assigments and wanting us to have a crystal ball on whether a flight will definitely depart tomorrow when it's still TODAY!!!

I want to go into nursing to make a difference...to touch peoples lives and have them touch mine in a way that isn't possible in other careers. I understand it is very stressful, however to me the stress has a purpose, either the patients are scared and or not understanding what is happening to them, it's completely different than just have a grandios opinion of oneself (I understand patients may sometimes have that too ) But what I'm saying is I really hope I'm not trading one set of insignificant complaints, for another such as was it the right flavor of jell-o etc...

I think nursing will have an impact on my life that the good days do indeed outweigh the bad and I'll know I made a real difference and have done something that truly matters in the big picture to help someone...Please tell me I'm not wrong!

Thanks,

Michele

[RGN1]

LOL, I love your "tweaking" of the statistics!

It would burn me if part of my NURSING rating depended on how fast a PCT answered a call light. Yes, I answer call lights, but NO, it's not my primary function. They can't grade us on what we really do....can't you just see "Rate the Nurse on how well she did your dressing change: did she keep sterile technique?" How about "Were all your medications properly prepared and appropriately administered? What mistakes did you catch in the handling of your triple lumen line?"

And how knowledgable we are?? Heck, I have had pt's family members argue with me over stuff I can recite in my sleep because they know someone who had this procedure and they didn't have this tx/med/complication. Many of them wouldn't know actual knowledge vs BS if it was silvercoated and handed to them on a platter.

:rotfl:

You know I think I might just get me a copy of that booklet & scan it so you all can see the nurses section. I'm sure you'd all get a laugh out of it!

Personally I'd love to create my own spoof one for rating the management on their support, dedication to their duty (when it snowed all the real working staff from cleaners & waitresses through to us nurses made it in but NOT ONE manager!!) and knowledge! They'd be lucky to get a 10% satisfaction rating from me!

[Kitty Hawk, ADN, RN]

What thread do you refer to where they were talking about this?

It was a thread that's now a few pages in, from "all smiles rn" called "customer service-rant"

I can completely understand the "fear based" needs things like that...I'm just hoping it's not a "hotel" atmosphere b/c they are vastly different so that's a shame they are instituting comment cards in various places.

I've always said that my background in travel as been an excellent springboard for nursing b/c I've always had to have a "high adreline rush" but for this business it's pretty much for nothing, so while I can enjoy that adreline rush at times, I want it to be for something that matters.

[justavolunteer]

I'm not a nurse, I'm 'justavolunteer' (on a pt. unit). I have also been a patient myself before. I am expected as a volunteer to greet pts., smile, introduce myself, etc. I don't have a problem with common courtesy by ANYBODY. HOWEVER, if I were having sudden cardiac trouble as a pt., I would hate to have someone say "sorry, we couldn't get to you, we were all busy heating trays & getting water for visitors". That's an exaggeration I know, but I have seen plenty of pts. who are upset because all the nurses ran to a code blue in another room ("well so what, someone could still stop & get me more coffee, couldn't they?").

The whole 'me first' thing in our current society definitely does not work when someone else is near death & needs instant attention!

Also, a big "THANK YOU" to all of you nurses who have to put up with so much grief sometimes.

[PeachPie]

I'm all for the customer always being right, as long as they're taking responsibility for their own actions. A spoiled brat diabetic insists on eating ice cream? No problem. Comatose people don't complain. 600 lb patient wants fried chicken? No problem, the quicker they die of heart attacks, the less tax dollars get spent. If people are going to be cocky and assume that they somehow know better than professionally educated healthcare staff, so be it.

[princess_picklejuice]

True story - to increase patient satisfaction, our hospital now provides coffee, juice and snacks, free of charge, to people in the outpatient services waiting rooms - who's serving? our security guards! - too bad we didn't learn anything from the kidnapping and murder of one of our nurses last year at a sister facility - customer service...always the priority!

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

OMGosh...how quick you answer call lights? Ummm how about how well you handled prioritizing with those call lights? Lets see, room 1 has a IV beeping, room 2 is not breathing well, and room 3 wants a glass of ice water. Which call light gets first attention...and who is going to be delayed for a while and angry because that IV is driving them nuts, and the other is thristy? I can just see those comment cards! "Had to wait 30 minutes for ......" and you get a ding on two comment cards, while the other one gets sent off to ICU and never fills one out. NICE!

I had a pt day before yesterday...that typical "when I have to go, I have to go then!" old ladies. She was furious with me and was calling all her relatives saying I was ignoring her because I took 5 minutes to get to her...which some how turned in her mind to 45 magically...when all and all I was getting a new post up into their room and set up to a PCA. I told her, we can't just stop and run in here sweety, we have tasks we are doing at all times and some can't be dropped on a dime I am afraid...I came as soon as I could." She said "screw those others and their tasks, I don't need so crap my bed waiting for you! You are MY nurse, and you should just be handling my needs!". I said "it would be so wonderful if I could just have one patient...sadly I have to deal with 5, and all of them think I should also be just their nurse...I am doing what I can based on priorities, and knowing you need the BSC quickly I got here as quickly as I could! It could have very easily taken me a lot longer!". She chilled out a bit after we continued talking about nursing ratios and how it is like taking care of 5 sick kids in one home and having to run run run tending to them all.

Not to mention I also just got done doing the heimlich manuver on a patient that choked and they had to go down to ER to get checked out. Lucky that was before she rang, could you imagine how mad she would have been then??? The patient was cleared and fine btw :).

What would her card say??? Took nurse 45 minutes to help me to the bsc. When in reality it was 5 minutes because I had a fresh post op, after just giving the heimlich and saving someone! Hmmm that doesn't seem fair or accurate!

[Tiwi]

True story - to increase patient satisfaction, our hospital now provides coffee, juice and snacks, free of charge, to people in the outpatient services waiting rooms - who's serving? our security guards! - too bad we didn't learn anything from the kidnapping and murder of one of our nurses last year at a sister facility - customer service...always the priority!

OMG the security guards? I bet they are delighted with that job...