Customer Satisfaction Surveys: Tell me what you think

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I know how much everyone hates the "customer satisfaction" people, but how else are we supposed to know what patients really think about the care they get while in the hospital?

How else are we supposed to get a glimpse of their hospitalization through THEIR eyes?

I've heard some really wacky things from the former patients about their stay, but all of them have something in common--they feel as though they were treated like an object, not a person.

So it comes back to us all twisted and looks like this is our fault and we bear the blame when it could very well be a system problem in the first place.

We all hear about how hospitals are designed to rob a patient of their personhood. So why is it so terrible that hospital management should finally get a clue that these are people who pay through the nose for our services, and they would like to be a little less scared, to have less pain and more creature comforts to help them through a frightening, expensive, exhausting, painful illness.

Your thoughts?

[weetziebat]

I actually have nothing against those surveys. It is one way for management to finally see in writing what so many patients fear to say while they are hospitalized, for fear of retaliation, or because they don't want to 'make a fuss'.

Every patient and family memeber I speak with say the same things - nurses are too busy, too overworked, not enough time to spend with patients, whatever happened to backrubs etc, no time to answer families questions in depth, not enough time for teaching pre-discharge.

I suppose occasionally someone will complain about something dumb, but I expect more often than not, those surveys aren't even turned in. At least that is my experience. Patients don't want to stir up trouble by complaining.

Sheesh, if only they'd listen to the nursing staff, there would be no reason for these surveys. Do they really expect to find different answers to the problems from the patients. Maybe wishful thinking on their parts!

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Do they really expect to find different answers to the problems from the patients.

Yes, actually I do. We nurses are too used to the environment to be as objective as the patient is.

And management acknowledges their ignorance of what really goes on in the patient's mind by their very need for these surveys.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Seriously. I was a patient and I got through the stay ok, but I lied a lot about what I thought about a lot of things because the nurses were wonderful, and I really didn't want to have it come down on them.

But seriously?

I was scared. I was not informed of my care, which kept me in the dark and made it scarier. It doesn't matter that no one else knew anything either. They could look at my chart and put the pieces together; I could not. Doubly frustrating because if it was a stranger, a patient, I would have the power that as a patient, I did not.

Yes, I had my husband get contraband food and drinks. It was the only way I could make him go get something to eat. Does that mean that I have to be burned at the stake by the nursing staff?

My room wasn't clean.

I got absolutely no sleep between lab sticks, assessments, vitals, tests, and meals.

So I sucked it up until I got out of there, but really folks. If P-G had called me as a patient and if I believed that I could be anonymous? I'd have to suggest things that don't really have a lot to do with the nursing care:

HBO on the TV (so maybe I'd pay a little extra)

DAILY room cleaning. Especially the toilet and sink.

Private bathroom. In fact, private room altogether. Too much infection nowadays.

Labs drawn in daylight hours only unless it's an emergency.

Guaranteed sleep time. Pt chooses the hours. (It's only four hours! Plus, if the patient isn't able to choose, they probably need more frequent assessments.)

Doctors who actually eyeball and talk to the patient and/or family who actually update the patient as to their plan of care.

A touch screen to order food. For that matter, a touch screen that links the patient to the gift shop so the patient can order a newspaper or magazine, and volunteers to bring the orders around 3X per day.

And of course, Internet access.

[weetziebat]

Good points, Angie. Actually the only times I've been hospitalized in the last 25 years were in overseas facilities - in mostly Third World countries. And must say I have absolutely no complaints about the staff, physicians or care rendered in those places. Not to mention not needing insurance and mostly not being charged or charged only for the medications used.

I can only go on what I observe here and what my patients and their families tell me, which both seem to tally.

I would be most interested in what the surveys show.

[banditrn]

I actually have encouraged a few people to speak out thru their patient surveys - one nice lady had been treated horribly when she went down for an MRI.

I was a patient in another hospital last year - and I had some problems with one particular staff member - I was a fresh surgical, and I asked for pain meds, and it took her 1 1/2 hours to bring it. That was the way the whole day went with her. I realize, that as a nurse, you can become overloaded, but then you ask someone else to take over.

[SharonH, RN]

I've been very critical of the "customer service" movement but I do not have a problem with those surveys. My issue with the whole customer service movement is that mgmt often chooses to focus on that issue without addressing patient care issues. If patients have concerns, then I think it's important that we know about it.

Re: your issues, I've had problems without not being informed of what's going on with my care either. Most providers treat you as though you are totally ignorant and your care is a task to complete without letting you know what is going to be going on at what time, etc. I am always surprised by this as I always like to let my folks know that this is what is going to be happening today, etc. But I am the exception in that arena. I know it.

As for the lab thing, I can understand your concerns but they need to keep the 4 and 5 rounds. Considering how many people have daily and AM labs, there is no way they could get them out to be reviewed in a timely manner if they don't start until 8 or 9. At least this way, they can get the results and have them available for the docs when they make daily rounds. It's hard enough getting procedures scheduled and getting people discharged in a timely manner without having to wait for daily labs to be drawn.

A lot of hospitals now have restaurant-style menus so you can call and place your order at any time that you want it. I was visiting a friend a couple of weeks ago and she called and ordered her complete meal and it was delivered to her within half an hour.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

We randomly mail out surveys. Sometimes only two people will return them, one of them being unhappy and our unit is judged with a 50% poor rating. Also I wonder if those who have gripes are more likely to return their surveys while hundreds of satisfied customers are unheard from.

It stings when they rate us as "uncaring" and "unavailable" but I guess if that's how they feel, then that's what we need to hear.

[TazziRN, RN]

Our admin has been really good about not coming down on us when we get dinged for unrealistic things, like when the complaint is because the pt's perception of how things should be are way off. Example: I can't count how many times I've had a pt complain on those surveys that I took too long to see the pt on initial assessment, when I was the one who answered the triage bell within seconds. And it's not that they didn't know I was the nurse and not ancillary staff, but because to them it felt like they were waiting, sick or injured, for ten minutes when in reality it was ten seconds.

They have helped us get rid of problem docs in the ER, because the complaints were consistent.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

It's not the surveys I don't like, it's management's response to them. Making the nurse responsible for "being woken up all night." Because MD's insistence that am labs be drawn at 4-5am so they're ready when they get there has nothing to do with it. I was dinged for not sharing what I was doing with the family enough. That particular patient, I told the wife EVERYTHING. But it was the daughter filling out the survey and she kept leaving the room.

There's my side, the patient's side, and what really happened. As long as management confuses the patient's side with what really happened, there's not going to be positive change, just the blame game.

[LydiaNN]

The problem is that administrators get a hairbrained scheme to survey patients and then don't use the results to effect any positive change, but more often to punish already overworked nurses or reward themselves. In other words, the negative comments are the fault of the nurses and the positive comments are the credit of the administrators.

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

It's not the surveys I don't like, it's management's response to them. Making the nurse responsible for "being woken up all night."

As long as management confuses the patient's side with what really happened, there's not going to be positive change, just the blame game.

Definitely agree.