Patient Satisfaction scores

hourly rounding has reduced our call lights by >60%.

Hourly rounding -- I agree that this really works! We had to force people at first but now aides do the odd hours, nurses do the even hours and, if we don't want to wake someone, we leave notes on the whiteboard to make sure they knew we were there

Knocking before entering -- got a lot of good points for that. I also offer to close the door as we are leaving especially if it is close to change of shift and they are in ear shot of the 'conversation pits' or if there is a noise in the area [carpets being vacuumed, trash being collected, etc]

Treat as unique -- find one thing unique to that patient [clothes, visitors, picture/card/flower] and ask about it in a way that demonstrates your awareness of them as an individual, not a disease. And, yes, we have to keep reminding people not to publicly or privately call the patients 'the gallstone in 12."

Stopping to say "good-bye" before you leave -- people were quite impressed and it allowed the off-going nurse to talk about the in-coming nurse e.g. "I gave Nancy an idea of what your day has been like and she will be following up with you to make a plan for the next few hours." Then follow up with something like: I think you will like her because she is a very good listener" or "I really like Mark because he has a great sense of humor" or "Margaret has a very gentle touch with IV starts/dressing changes"

Pain control, pain control, pain control! You can never say too much about making people as comfortable as possible and following up to make sure your interventions worked. With the drug seekers, leave judgement at the door. Remember that everyone's response to their situation is the right response -- we can't KNOW any different. Look for subtle signs that someone is in pain and ask them if they need help instead of making them ask you first!

Answering the call lights in 30 seconds or less -- this had to be the hardest! The closest person has to answer -- it is not just for secretaries or aides. "Hello! How can we help you?" not "Did you need something?" Watch the tone of voice, too -- no deep sighs, no sarcasm. Smile while you talk and FOLLOW THROUGH! Tell the nurse, get the water, call the family ... whatever you promised, you deliver!

How do I get them to do these things? Walk softly, lead by example, accentuate the positives ... and don't accept anything less than what they would want for their own famillies!

have you looked at the questions asked the patients during the survey? We did and found that they were vague and confusing. We changed surveyors and our scores increased!

We use Press Ganey and, in addition to their standard questions, we added some of our own. Plus we look at every narrative written so we can see if there is anything that effects patient satisfaction that isn't included anywhere else on the survey.

Does anyone do follow up phone calls after discharge?