"When Was the Last Time I Wow'ed a Patient?"

[Mully]

I recently went to a job interview and one of the first questions I was asked is, "When was the last time you wow'ed a patient?" Up until this point I thought the interview was going pretty well. I had worn my nicest suit, shaken my interviewers hand firmly when meeting, smiled when appropriate, and all of the rest of the textbook niceties of the dreaded interview. I'm usually quite calm in situations like these. I have a natural desire to be on stage, to act, to have the attention on myself. When this is the case, I usually perform to the best of my ability, manipulating my audience into loving what I love, hating what I hate, and most importantly, becoming smitten with me.

Then there was this question.

When was the last time I wow'ed a patient? I thought to myself. Picture the depths of the ocean floor. Picture the dark side of the moon. Imagine the inside of your eyelids. These things all resembled the thoughts that were coming to my mind. Nothing. I could think of absolutely nothing.

What does he want me to say? That I brought a box of donuts to my patient once? That I did cartwheels in the room or juggled flaming wands? Oh I know! I once put my entire fist inside my mouth! That really wow'ed Betty and her COPD exacerbation! Wow'ed her right to health!

On my way home from the interview I reflected on what that question could even mean. I thought about the fact that our hospitals are becoming more and more customer service oriented. They're no longer patients (that's an ugly word) - they're clients. It's no longer acute renal failure (that might hurt the kidney's feelings) - it's acute kidney injury. These are the types of changes many people within our health care systems spend their time making. These things are what we consider important.

What about the time I sent 200 volts pulsating through a man's body to bring him back from the dead? I think that probably wow'ed him! What about the time I stood silently in a room while a demented patient in restraints screamed about how much she hated me. What about the times that I've yelled at my patients to sit down because they were unsteady and medically unsafe to walk. Or the times when I've had to firmly remind my patients that while they are on my unit, I am the boss. Did these moments wow the patients? Maybe. Is that really our goal? To wow all the patients?

I've concluded that it's not about how customer service oriented we are with our patients. It's now about how politically correct we are. It's about being a good nurse, which stems from a desire to truly help people. When you care about people, you care about not offending them. You care about going the extra distance for them. You choose to do things like go to another unit to get chocolate pudding because you know they'll like it better than the vanilla, or take the time to grab the lotion and put it on their feet even at the end of your shift. Sometimes you do things like tell a patient what they don't want to hear. Sometimes we hurt patients, physically, emotionally, mentally, all for their own greater good. Sometimes patients aren't wow'ed. Sometimes they're healed.

I didn't get the job. They went with someone who was "more qualified". That didn't exactly wow me. Maybe though, this is a time when I'm not supposed to be wow'ed. I want to get the right job, on the right unit, in the right hospital, in the right city. Not getting this job did hurt a little, but maybe it's supposed to. Maybe we're not meant to be wow'ed all the time. Maybe we go through some hurt every now and again for our own greater good. When was the last time I wow'ed a patient? I don't know. Next question.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I am not surprised to hear this is being asked in interviews since customer service being the only thing cared about anymore. I will say I wow'ed someone today. I helped them to register for a program that will save them over $700.00 a month. That made my day!

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I am not surprised to hear this is being asked in interviews since customer service being the only thing cared about anymore. I will say I wow'ed someone today. I helped them to register for a program that will save them over $700.00 a month. That made my day!

Do you work for GEICO?

[NO50FRANNY]

How do you think this response would go.... "probably yesterday when I dumped ice cold water on the face of a patient at triage because she was pretending to be unresponsive". She wasn't expecting that.

[prep8611]

I think wowing someone can be as simple as going to another floor to get the flavor of pudding someone likes or really taking time for education, if you can't see yourself doing that then your probably in the wrong field. I work in a busy icu and I find I do something every night that "wows" a patient although its just a simple task. I've had many job interviews and I get asked this every single time and a simple answer will usually suffice. You guys are making a mountain out of a mole hill and it must be a big joke.... 90 percent of American jobs are service based so don't you think customer service will remain important in our field. I suggest you get with the times or else you'll keep getting looked over for more qualified applicants.

[prep8611]

I see things everyday that make me want to shout. I see pts asking a nurse if they can heat up some prune juice for them and the nurse replies "no, I don't have time" and then heads behind the nurses' station to text on her phone. I see pts asking for a home visit pass and the nurse replies "you have to talk to the doc", even though pt and family left several messages.

Is it a Wow kind of thing when you go out and heat up prune juice, or grab a chart and head into the docs hidey holes to get the order written? I just try to make my pts life a little better while I'm there. Is that a Wow moment? Because sometimes, it really means a lot to them. It hasn't killed me yet either.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.... Good job.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I

You guys are making a mountain out of a mole hill and it must be a big joke.... 90 percent of American jobs are service based so don't you think customer service will remain important in our field. I suggest you get with the times or else you'll keep getting looked over for more qualified applicants.

^There's a difference of "wowing" a patient, and doing your job. I WILL NOT treat my nursing practice as "will you like fries with that???"

This is from someone who has been commended for "WOWing" pts for the past 13 years...ALL the years I've been in healthcare, OK?

The point is management should not treat this as an exception, based on scores...give US NURSES more credit than THAT.

[nursel56]

I think wowing someone can be as simple as going to another floor to get the flavor of pudding someone likes or really taking time for education, if you can't see yourself doing that then your probably in the wrong field. I work in a busy icu and I find I do something every night that "wows" a patient although its just a simple task. I've had many job interviews and I get asked this every single time and a simple answer will usually suffice. You guys are making a mountain out of a mole hill and it must be a big joke.... 90 percent of American jobs are service based so don't you think customer service will remain important in our field. I suggest you get with the times or else you'll keep getting looked over for more qualified applicants.

Just like the other "what they are really asking is . . ." and/or "what 'wowing' someone is. . ." replies - it is a matter of interpretation. Any one of us can make up an interpretation and answer it. Personally, I think the concept of 'wowing' someone requires a reaction on the part of the patient. There are lots of people who would not be impressed at all with their heated up prune juice or getting their first choice in pudding flavor.

Just to be clear, I don't believe that most nurses would deny the request to heat the prune juice and go send a text message to a friend. If they say they don't have time, it's because they really don't have the time. There seems to be an underlying message that merely objecting to the wording of the question means one is a slacker or too dense to figure it out.

[CityRN123]

I just want to say that this post was so incredibly eloquently written and entertaining that it really genuinely Wow'ed me!!

[prep8611]

Well I've worked in a lot of hospitals and a lot of floors and the only thing they have in common is that they're are lazy nurses that provide "ok" care but do nothing extra as well as many nurses who provide ok care and really go out of there way to make the patient feel special.Your not going to make every patient or family member happy but you can try. I dont bend over backwards for patients but i do go out of my way for things they need. I work in icu where there are clicks, beeps, and monitors going of all night yet i remember that there is still a patient and there family beneath it all so if i can take a shorter break and take the time to wash my patient or explain something I will. Every single time. All in all I think the problem lies in those complaining about the patients an not the other way around, i wouldn't have hired the OP either.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

Well I've worked in a lot of hospitals and a lot of floors and the only thing they have in common is that they're are lazy nurses that provide "ok" care but do nothing extra as well as many nurses who provide ok care and really go out of there way to make the patient feel special.Your not going to make every patient or family member happy but you can try. I dont bend over backwards for patients but i do go out of my way for things they need. I work in icu where there are clicks beeps, and monitors going of all night yet i remember that there is still a patient and there family beneath it all so if i can take a shorter break and take the time to wash my patient or explain something I will. Every single time. All in all I think the problem lies in those complaining about the patients an not the other way around, i wouldn't have hired the OP either.[/quote']

^AND...

Most nurses KNOW there is a patient there...

Sounds like you need to realize MOST nurses do their job, every.single.time. You're not reinventing the wheel either...Most of us go above and beyond...don't blanket us...unless you have absolutely walked inside each of our Danskos, are a fly on the wall of every patient room, you only can speak for your own practice, and not state who's "complaining" not doing their job, etc...really...are we on AN or at your nurses station at your job right now???

last time I checked, we were in AN right now.

Again, give your fellow nurses credit...the question is goofy and hokey, but nursing is a "wow" in itself...we're in the trenches, and it's not for everybody...but save the "I go above and beyond like NOBODY else" tone in your posts...you're not the only one, really.

Let us make make light of the question on here...we do the "wowing" when we are clocked in. :)

[prep8611]

^AND...

Most nurses KNOW there is a patient there...

Sounds like you need to realize MOST nurses do their job, every.single.time. You're not reinventing the wheel either...Most of us go above and beyond...don't blanket us...unless you have absolutely walked inside each of our Danskos, are a fly on the wall of every patient room, you only can speak for your own practice, and not state who's "complaining" not doing their job, etc...really...are we on AN or at your nurses station at your job right now???

last time I checked, we were in AN right now.

Again, give your fellow nurses credit...the question is goofy and hokey, but nursing is a "wow" in itself...we're in the trenches, and it's not for everybody...but save the "I go above and beyond like NOBODY else" tone in your posts...you're not the only one, really.

Let us make make light of the question on here...we do the "wowing" when we are clocked in. :)

I think you feel as though I'm directing comments towards you or the many great nurses in the field (many that I work with). I'm not, at all. I am just disgusted by the complaining that the OP made in his/her snarky post and everyone else who followed suit and complained. I work with many great nurses, some who are much better than me. I like you was offering my two cents and opinion into this long discussion. I was merely stating that i feel it is a growing thought amongst nurses that patient satisfaction is not as important as competent care.

My suggestion would to be that you don't take what strangers say to heart and that the original poster probably has done something for a patient that wowed them and to recognize that the next time they go into an interview. It'll probably be more satisfying then smashing sour grapes and complaining on here about it afterwards.

[nursel56]

Well I've worked in a lot of hospitals and a lot of floors and the only thing they have in common is that they're are lazy nurses that provide "ok" care but do nothing extra as well as many nurses who provide ok care and really go out of there way to make the patient feel special.Your not going to make every patient or family member happy but you can try. I dont bend over backwards for patients but i do go out of my way for things they need. I work in icu where there are clicks, beeps, and monitors going of all night yet i remember that there is still a patient and there family beneath it all so if i can take a shorter break and take the time to wash my patient or explain something I will. Every single time. All in all I think the problem lies in those complaining about the patients an not the other way around, i wouldn't have hired the OP either.

Why not? She didn't say why she wasn't hired or what she answered when the question was asked but she did tell us in her opening post that she cared enough to go to another unit for chocolate pudding and rub lotion on someone's feet even though it was the end of her shift, just the sorts of things you seem to think are unusual. Based on that I'd say you aren't giving credit where credit is due here on this forum and maybe elsewhere.

edit: I didn't notice this before my post:

I was merely stating that i feel it is a growing thought amongst nurses that patient satisfaction is not as important as competent care.

Now that would be a good discussion to have. I haven't noticed that growing thought as I think most of us are still trying to grasp the idea that nurses should allow one to affect the other at all. Thanks for bringing up an interesting topic!