Enough is Enough

[abbaking]

I have HAD IT with customer service and press-gayney. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Lately at work , I do the basics and make a nice introduction but anything else I refuse (the backrubs promised in the brochure, the menu seletion, the encouragement of 24 hour visiting). All i want to do is do my job, and go home. This Customer is alway right and Healthy Patients are Happy Patients has burned me out to the point of tears. I snapped at my boss a few weeks ago when she told me of a complaint that I was not Happy enough - I said "Who on EARTH is happy and manic with energy at 4am?"

Patients are PATIENTS! They are not our guests! This is not a hotel. Personally, I would rather the hospital be old school style - that would be encouragement enough for early ambulation post surgery and even quicker d/c.

I have had enough of this customer service mentality - staff deserve better.

[cherrybreeze, ADN, RN]

UPDATE - I wanted to update ya'll on what happened yesterday. During our utterly banal staff meeting we were told that in oeder for the hospital to contain costs - the food service workers where downsized and now we have to collect the meal carts, pass the trays and be responsible for 24-hour meal service - meaning we are now waiters and waitresses in the LITERAL sense.

I got in trouble for a situation - Ya'll are gonna LOVE this crap. Had a patient last week with COPD - wnated to go out to smoke cigarettes - Said No you need to rest and follow the directions of the nurses and MD's - I will not take you out to smoke.

Patient called customer service rep to complain - Keep in mind the rep is an uptight anal middle-aged man who tries to impress everyone and himself with him Louis Vuitton and Prada.

Rep's exact words to me "If a patient wants to smoke you will need to find a way to make that happen - we can't let him down"

After I got of my shift yesterday I met up with an old friend - Jack Daniels.

Being me, I would LOVE to take this statement by the rep to the doc, and see what THEY had to say about it!

Mostly our patients that want to go smoke are told no. Smoking isn't allowed on our grounds anyway, where do they think they are giong to go?? Was the guy on O2? What did the rep say to THAT?

UGH. This makes me very angry.

[Mike Huster]

Kudos to ALL whom have responded... I feel for ya. I am too sick of the "Customer Service". It seems we are always running and running and never to get the praise. I feel we should go back to the "old" day where there were wards (no such thing as a private room ) and only two familymemebers to visit at a time and no kids! Things were more calm and you could pay attention to the patients and get your work done. Now we have to cope with some much ancillary "stuff" it's impossible to care for your patients. Also I wonder how the administration arrive at the "productivity" scores. If I hear about productivity much longer I'm gonna explode! I'm working my rear off at neearly 50 hrs per week, don't see how much more I can give.

[csw5048]

Sorry, but I am an old school nurse. The "customer service" that you described, backrubs, nourishments, etc, were what WE called nursing! Yes, nursing is much more high tech today and there are much fewer staff for the number of patients. But that doesn't mean our patients don't deserve the best care we can give them. ( I do agree that the homemade cookies are a little overboard). When you say you just want to "do your job and go home." I wonder what your job consists of in your opinion? Is it just giving meds and doing the assessments? Or does it include the moral support, education, encouragment of each patient. Sorry, but it seems to me that maybe a career change may be just what the doctor ordered for you. I am a firm believer that if you are not happy with what you are doing, find something to do that DOES make you happy. Good luck and God Bless!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

sorry, but i am an old school nurse. the "customer service" that you described, backrubs, nourishments, etc, were what we called nursing! yes, nursing is much more high tech today and there are much fewer staff for the number of patients. but that doesn't mean our patients don't deserve the best care we can give them. ( i do agree that the homemade cookies are a little overboard). when you say you just want to "do your job and go home." i wonder what your job consists of in your opinion? is it just giving meds and doing the assessments? or does it include the moral support, education, encouragment of each patient. sorry, but it seems to me that maybe a career change may be just what the doctor ordered for you. i am a firm believer that if you are not happy with what you are doing, find something to do that does make you happy. good luck and god bless!

i'm an "old school" nurse, too. i've been at the bedside continuously since 1977 -- i remember back rubs, nourishment, etc. for the patient. these days, "customer service" means fetching a latte for the family member while simultaneously coding the patient next door, passing out blankets and diet cokes to all 8 members of the extended family camping out at the bedside and fielding threats and physical violence on the one hand while smiling and and being friendly to the same visitor who was waving a gun in your face mere hours ago.

i'm thinking that perhaps you've been away from the bedside for awhile and you're perhaps a bit out of touch with what "customer service" means these days. at any rate, you were unduly harsh to those of us who believe our job consists of "patient care," not "customer service."

[csw5048]

I apologize if you feel my comment was "harsh". I did not intend to sound as if I was unfeeling or unsympathetic with what nurses today are expected to deal with.The "customer service" you describe is indeed above and beyond what should be expected of nurses, especially with the number of patients that we are assigned. What I was reading between the lines was the obvious burn out the original writer was expressing. My firm belief is that if the job you have is not bringing you satisfaction, then you should change it, for your own sanity and well being. I have been at the beside since 1968 and have seen bedside nursing change considerably. When I could no longer deal the "the administration" and changes, I changed jobs. I now work in Public Health and love it. The hours are better, the pay worse, and yes we are being asked to do more with less staff, but.... I am still doing nursing (although not bedside). And that was all I was suggesting, that if the pressure is too much, do yourself a favor and find something less stressful.

[oslogirl]

We do so much butt kissing that it's no wonder why more and more patients push for a longer hospital stay. A doctor writes an order for a patient to be discharged, and I'm calling the doctor an hour later because said patient wants to know if he or she can stay another day. OUTRAGEOUS!

Yes, this is insane, yet it has been occurring on my unit more and more frequently.

[oslogirl]

Being me, I would LOVE to take this statement by the rep to the doc, and see what THEY had to say about it!

Mostly our patients that want to go smoke are told no. Smoking isn't allowed on our grounds anyway, where do they think they are giong to go?? Was the guy on O2? What did the rep say to THAT?

UGH. This makes me very angry.

I am feeling angry too as I read this/

[Katnip, RN]

Trust me...I know exactly what you're saying. I'm a nurse advocate with the battle scars to prove it. Baking cookies should never take precidence over patient safety or even basic care. Hospitals are not hotels and patients sometimes need to be told that.

I think the problem is rooted sometimes in a system that treats patients like cattle , with people talking around them and not to them, with rude people saying "that's not my patient", doctors coming in and out, not talking to the patient, nurses saying "because the doctor ordered it...." on and on and on. People have had enough of shoddy attitudes and care. I know I pay too high a price for my insurance, co-pays, etc. not to be treated with respect when I see my doctor or if I'm ever an inpatient. No I don't expect to be served bon bons.

My dentist one time kept me waiting over an hour and the staff was rude about it. Guess what...I left and never came back.

If your hospital expects you to sacrifice patient care, then a call to Joint Commission might be in order

Most customer service activities can be incorporated in people's routine. Not in the place of patient care. Little tihngs can make all the difference...if everyone...housekeeping, respiratory, the admitting clerk, doctors takes a look at themselves.

Trust me word of mouth gets around. There's several hospitals around here I woundn't send my worst enemy to. I want to work at the place people want to be at.

In some ways I can't stand it. In another, I think it's good that people are being held accountable.

I agree, Tweety with what you're saying. When I worked ED, I always tried to do those little things for patients and their families as often as I could. The tea and warm blanket for the shivering grandma who was with the patient, a popsicle for junior, etc, trying to find that extra pillow. I do that and with pleasure because I'm naturally a nurturer. I do it because I do care about the patient and their families. (most of the time) Patients don't always need a cookie or blanket. Sometimes all they need is a nurse with a friendly demeanor to make them feel good.

I got lots of nice letters from patients, and so did my manager.

I think the problem arises is when admin tries to force staff to do these things every single time, but not give us the resources to do it. I think that's where the frustration comes from. That and the motive. I honestly don't think the people who thinks these things up care about the patient but that they will bring repeat business.

[JenRN1028]

I just wanted to respond to "Tait". I work in a Magnet hospital that recently achieved the title a year ago. I encounter the same issues that other writers have, such as patients and visitors being treated as "customers" and customers are always right. I work in Labor & Delivery mostly, so our patients are fairly healthy and these patients, especially want things handed to them and done for them moreso than the sick patients. It's ridiculous what we, as nurses(or waitresses), have to go through or do during our shifts to make our patients feel "at home or as if they are staying in a hotel." I agree....this is a HOSPITAL!!! Have your baby, or get better, and go home. You don't need all the comforts of home to heal.

[tipsplease]

I am amused by all the preaching to the choir here. I have been an RN for more than 30 years and during that time I have seen trends come and go....here's hoping that the "customer service" gimmick is on its way out. Probably my most egregious experience with this was the patient who walked his Natrecor drip across Peachtree Street to the CVS to buy cigarettes on a regular basis. Management knew this but said we couldn't stop him. He was an HIV positive no insurance patient. They were worried he would give us negative customer service reviews after he was discharged.

Every time I go to work I try to think about how I can leave the day behind me when I clock out. It really and truly gets discouraging trying to be a really good RN to very sick patients while having to be the housekeeper, nursing assistant, secretary etc. etc. Basically I think this would all be more bearable if the hospital administrations were even remotely supportive of the staff.

The whole picture is absurd at best and things cannot continue the way they are going now. LEt's make The MacDonaldization of America required reading for everyone who turns 18.