When I'm a patient, nothing makes me feel more like I, the patient, am on an assembly line, than when my nurse comes across as an Autobot.
You know, you send a portal message to the office nurse, and the reply sounds like it's composed of drop down box choices. "I'm so sorry that you are having this problem, the doctor will be back in the office on Thursday to address your concerns". "We care about our patients, your pain is important to us". They may as well label the message 'donotreply'.
You're an inpatient and Autobot RN enters the room with a fake smile with a scripted speech "What can I do for you, I have the time. On a scale from 1-10, 1 being barely any pain, and 10 being the worst pain imaginable, how would you rate your pain?".
At least try to be a little real, genuine, creative, HUMAN! Our modern approach to medicine, and many other fields, has taken the human touch out of so many of our interactions. No wonder we often feel empty and uncared for.
Every patient is a different case, and every RN is a different case. Some patients are easy to get to know and easy to be personable. Others are reserved and want to keep things at a distance. Some nurses know how to be personable because they simply are - personable. But I agree that it is easy for a nurse to fall into the scripting category.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
Encouraged? I'd say more like mandatory if you want to keep your job.
We are told " this is how it will be, and its not going to go away"
We even have little script cards that we are supposed to have with us.
That's what the suits think the public wants so they can get good scores on the hcahps surveys.
No wonder nurses in my neck of the woods feel like servants/maids with an RN license.
Welcome to my world
PS. And we have been told by the manager " if you don't like it, you can leave". Which they know makes you desperate, as there are so many extra nurses available waiting to take your job. ( we have 5 colleges in the are churning out rns 2x a year
That is truly awful. Much turnover? Are the new grad millineals ok with this?
Yeah this is exactly why I don't utter scripted lines unless I'm onstage (which at this point in my life is never.) Not only is it unprofessional--do the MDs, PT/OTs, RRTs, SLPs, chaplains, anybody else use scripted lines?? -- but it assumes the patients are idiots.
My people skills are just fine, thanks. The only time someone has complained about me, I was following policy -- visitors were restricted for security reasons, and I wouldn't give the visitor toiletries and a hospital gown for her overnight stay. Oh and early in my career, I wouldn't escort the pt outside to smoke.
Honestly, would any of you be more satisfied with your care from a nurse who clearly thinks you're an idiot? That's exactly the thing I would complain about in a survey, were my nurse to use scripting with me.
There was a poster in here, haven't heard from him in a while, but he was saying they tried to mandate scripting at his hospital. The entire staff refused. What were they going to do, fire the whole staff?
Specializes in Pediatrics, Pediatric Float, PICU, NICU.
The only people in my opinion, who should be taught
"scripting", are those who have demonstrated that they
have zero, I repeat, zero, social skills whatsoever. ZERO.
I don't disagree with you. However my understanding is that all of this emphasis on scripting isn't necessarily solely for the RN to sound like an autobot and focus on the Press Ganey scores, but rather to help the patient to connect and understand that the things that are being done for them are satisfying those needs. We've all had patients that have received pain medication that dropped their pain significantly (thus controlling their pain) but may need a little prompting/scripting/mental persuasion to connect that to the specific questions on the Press Ganey surveys.
It ain't right, but with how health care is these days, reimbursement, etc it's not necessarily wrong.
We thankfully don't have scripts but I still make it a point to educate the patient and families on what we are doing it and why we are doing it, which indirectly relates back to the surveys. You don't have to be a robot about it.
It's simple: scripted phrases = better ratings = higher reimbursement. Or so they say. I just can't do it. I have to be myself and friendly. To me, that means a lot more and shows that you really do care about patients.
It's simple: scripted phrases = better ratings = higher reimbursement. Or so they say. I just can't do it. I have to be myself and friendly. To me, that means a lot more and shows that you really do care about patients.
This is yet another thing that idiots have thought up that doesn't make sense, and to me is very '1984'-ish. I'll NEVER work anywhere that makes nurses do **** like this, I can guarantee that.
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
I don't disagree with you. However my understanding is that all of this emphasis on scripting isn't necessarily solely for the RN to sound like an autobot and focus on the Press Ganey scores, but rather to help the patient to connect and understand that the things that are being done for them are satisfying those needs. We've all had patients that have received pain medication that dropped their pain significantly (thus controlling their pain) but may need a little prompting/scripting/mental persuasion to connect that to the specific questions on the Press Ganey surveys.
It ain't right, but with how health care is these days, reimbursement, etc it's not necessarily wrong.
We thankfully don't have scripts but I still make it a point to educate the patient and families on what we are doing it and why we are doing it, which indirectly relates back to the surveys. You don't have to be a robot about it.
I see what you are saying. Ask the patient "Ms. Jones, can you tell me what your pain is right now, on a scale of 1-10?"... then later on Ms. Jones sees a question on the patient survey that says "Did your nurses each ask you to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10" and Ms. Jones can say "Yes!" Huzzah! Score one for your hospital! :)
I really have no problem with SOME standardized scripting... and really, I should take
back what I said before. Even some new nurses who are nervous, may have good
social skills, but being in that new nursing role, a "script" can help them know what
Leonardo Del Toro, RN
1 Article; 730 Posts
Every patient is a different case, and every RN is a different case. Some patients are easy to get to know and easy to be personable. Others are reserved and want to keep things at a distance. Some nurses know how to be personable because they simply are - personable. But I agree that it is easy for a nurse to fall into the scripting category.