Nurse Satisfaction comes before Patient Satisfaction
This Article is going to review and reference the article titled: Patient Satisfaction Must Start With Nursing Satisfaction. Why do these scores matter? Are you a dissatisfied nurse? How can we make nurses happier?
NursesGeneral NursingArticle
Are you in a unit where your patient satisfaction scores are always a struggle? Look around you, are the nurses satisfied with their job? Nurses go into a job to help care for others, but when staffing ratios are unsafe, documentation takes longer than patient care, and you haven't peed in 12 hours, it can become a daunting job.
Who's obsessed with these scores?
Have you been a nurse for a while and don't remember such a fuss in the past about patient satisfaction scores. You aren't daydreaming; it is a newer concept. Hospital administrators, or what many of the nurses refer to as the "bigwigs," or "higher ups" are overly obsessed with the patient satisfaction scores. Why? Hospitals are a business, and excellent scores mean better reimbursement from Medicaid. Reimbursement equals money, and as nurses, we often don't think of the hospital as a business because we are in a caregiver role, not a salesperson.
As nurses, we have to understand this. There is an abundant number of people on the Medicaid and Medicare system, and unfortunately, without reimbursement. Hospitals could not run. Many hospitals are shutting down across the nation because they cannot keep up with the demands.
It's not that we don't want patients to love us
Nurses love their patients, or they wouldn't be a nurse. I have a problem with the concept of the "best patient experience" for everyone. I'll tell you; I don't treat anyone different. I don't care if you are Donald Trump's son or a homeless woman on her 4th abortion, I will treat you the same and give you the best care. My vision is never the patient experience; it is "how would I treat this patient if she was my sister."
We have to take a look at why we do what we do. When nurses become happier, the vision isn't so cloudy. We want our patients to be more satisfied, pain controlled, teaching completed, but sometimes it isn't possible. When nurses are happy, patients will be as well.
Why can't we meet our goals
Hey, "bigwigs," listen up. You have to take care of your nurses, yeah, the little guys. Do you think patients can't tell when their nurse is overworked and underpaid? IF not, you need to be a patient. It is written all over the nurse's face. We have a hard time faking happiness, at least most the nurses I work with.
How to turn the frowns upside down
If you are a nurse manager, take a look at your staff. Do you have a high turnover? Ask you trusted charge nurses, see what they think the issue may be. Hand out a random survey to your staff:
What is your overall satisfaction working at our hospital?
What is the most stressful thing about your workday?
What can we do to improve your workday?
Do you feel rested? Do you have enough breaks?
Do you enjoy working with your colleagues? Is there anyone here who drives you down?
In conclusion, higher ups, stop spending so much money on national "experts" who think they can help us raise our scores. Take a look of the nurses. Are they happy? What can you do to change that? Hiring an extra nurse to be out of staffing to help give lunches and breaks is going to cost less than all the extra lectures and training. According to Hazen's article, happier people make fewer mistakes because they are more aware of their surroundings, making their workload doable.
How do you think we should fix nurse satisfaction rates? Do you agree that nurse satisfaction reflects patient satisfaction?
