Client vs Patient

nlitened · May 18, 2016

To me Client means someone who pays for your services, whereas a Patient is someone whom you care for. I don't want to look at my patients as dollar signs.

One of my instructors tried to get us to use client...that wasn't happening.

Kitiger, RN · May 18, 2016

I can agree with you about hospitalized patients, but in private duty home care, it is not quite so cut & dried. The people I take care of are not necessarily sick; in fact, one of my goals is to keep them healthy and out of the hospital. Most of my clients are either disabled and/or require help to manage their medical needs.

They don't see themselves as sick, and most don't want uniforms or formality. I do keep a professional distance, but I also try to blend in.

OldDude · May 18, 2016

I call em patients. I'm not selling em a time share or a satellite TV contract.

Sage611 · May 18, 2016

Not a nurse yet, but totally agree with you. I've had my share of "clients." It is inferred that the relationship is based on a financial arrangement. He/she can be the hospital's client; as a nurse, the person will be my patient.

Purple_roses · May 18, 2016

I can agree with you about hospitalized patients, but in private duty home care, it is not quite so cut & dried. The people I take care of are not necessarily sick; in fact, one of my goals is to keep them healthy and out of the hospital. Most of my clients are either disabled and/or require help to manage their medical needs.
They don't see themselves as sick, and most don't want uniforms or formality. I do keep a professional distance, but I also try to blend in.

The clients that I see in home care (or the majority of them at least) do NOT want to be called patients. They don't want to feel sick or needy. They want to live their lives outside of hospitals or nursing homes to the fullest of their capabilities.

srercg · May 18, 2016

totally can see in home health care that they don't want to be called "patients" and on one side you want to make them happy BUT on the other side - to me anyway - that is the first step toward them running the show, which is their goal. As nurses we allow autonomy and respect that - but in some cases this is just the patients way of keeping control of everything you do, and reserving the right to say you did it wrong so you they don't have to pay you if they have a "complaint" - its like smoking is the gateway drug -= calling the patient "client" is the gateway to making nursing like shopping at the store.

NanaPoo · May 18, 2016

I've been a nurse for 17 years. This is not a new "push" or trend.

When I entered my first med-surg unit in 1999, we were told to call the people in our care "customers", never "patients".

I agree as well. I am assessing their health status, administering medications, and caring personally for them...not selling them a soda at the corner market.

anchordown16 · May 18, 2016

I do recognize that on the NCLEX and in classes now it is taught that patients are "clients" but I must admit I completely disagree with this notion. The idea of a "client" instead of being a patient is what started the satisfaction surveys in hospitals. It is no longer about the health and treatment of the patient but now the satisfaction of the customer.

oldandintheway · May 18, 2016

Clients, Patients, ehhh.....they are patients to me. But what amuses me is "guest services" if they are truly guests why do we bill them for services? I don't charge guests in my home!

amoLucia · May 18, 2016

That terminology has existed for quite some time. Way back when, I actually liked the term 'client' because it did convey a sense of financial accountability for services that WERE being paid for albeit by 'care, 'caid, private pay or or insurances. Payment for services instilled a sense of quality assurance for 'services rendered'.

Nursing has very little true knowledge and understanding how the financing of healthcare happens. I'll admit to my own ignorance in this area. I cringe when I see waste, like knowing full well that the nurse didn't mean to waste that house stock saline flush that she unwrapped and then left as the bedside. I have to throw it away - I can't guarantee its sterility. I won't use it, so I must toss it. House stock saline syringe provided by our Pharmacy provider costing the facility $$$ when I sign off the delivery invoices.

My sensibility has swung so far the other way now - "client" imparts a sense of the 'almighty dollar' so much so that I hate the term now. But it still does cause me to think about fiscal responsibility.

AspiringNurseMW · May 18, 2016

I get what you mean. But on the other end many out of hospital midwives will refer to their patients as clients.

Partially because out of hospitals pregnant patients are usually low risk and thus technically in a state of wellness, not sickness. And out of hospitals midwives (most) feel that they are truly in service of the mother, and act more as a partner in care rather than a "here do this and take this" kind of care.

But in clinicals no, and my instructors never cared, but did make us aware of all the terms.