a friend's pt satisfaction survey

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 23, 2015

Now I kind of wish I hadn't thrown away the survey I got after my ER visit- now if only we could see more people doing this.

FlyingScot, RN · Mar 23, 2015

She then said that last time she got "one of those surveys" in the mail, she wrote on there, "These questions are on the wrong focus. You should be asking if the nurses and doctors were competent. They are not running a hotel; they are there to save our lives. So what if one doesn't smile while doing something? Maybe he's concentrating so he doesn't screw up!"

And you can bet your sweet bippy they scrutinized the schedule when she was admitted, found the one male staff member who cared for her and proceeded to crucify him for the "patient complaint" of him not smiling. :yawn:

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Mar 23, 2015

glad someone gets it

Anna S, RN · Mar 25, 2015

When I got my survey in the mail after being a pt, I wrote that the hospital is obviously putting too much pressure on the staff re: survey results, because almost every hospital employee I came in contact with mentioned that I would be getting a survey, and reminded me to be sure to give them a good rating.

justavolunteer · Mar 25, 2015

The last time I got one of those, a lot of the questions were 'did the nurse always do immediately?' or 'did someone always show up immediately when you hit the call light?'. Well of course not! You don't always get immediate service at the grocery checkout, the light doesn't always immediately turn green when you pull up to the intersection & it doesn't always immediately stop raining when you want to go for a walk! People can't be 6 places at once, even if some idiot administrative types seem to think that!

On top of it, admins order staff reductions, then howl loud & long when the survey scores go down. Is it written somewhere that an admin job requirement is utter stupidity?

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2015

I wish I could "like" this one more than once!!! :inlove:

The last time I got one of those, a lot of the questions were 'did the nurse always do immediately?' or 'did someone always show up immediately when you hit the call light?'. Well of course not! You don't always get immediate service at the grocery checkout, the light doesn't always immediately turn green when you pull up to the intersection & it doesn't always immediately stop raining when you want to go for a walk! People can't be 6 places at once, even if some idiot administrative types seem to think that!
On top of it, admins order staff reductions, then howl loud & long when the survey scores go down. Is it written somewhere that an admin job requirement is utter stupidity?

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Mar 25, 2015

And if someone said "I want you to be DELIGHTED" one more time......I am ill, not delighted....what would delight me is getting outta the place and being well!!

And "nice to my visitors?" I am not even nice to my visitors....I am ill, and cranky.

And finally "would you recommend us to a friend/relative?" Uhm, no, as I wouldn't wish sickness on my worst enemy.....

No Stars In My Eyes · Mar 26, 2015

Hubby's going in for shoulder surgery soon; I can't WAIT to get that survey, heh-heh-heh-heh. I'll give 'em a shovelful of opinion about the 'customer service' crap. My hubby says that he'd rather have a rabid pit-bull biting his butt than to receive a letter from me when I'm not happy about something. And I am most decidedly not happy about the stupidity of the emphasis on this trend!

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Mar 26, 2015

I actually had a middle age man demand I smile when I was concentrating dealing with his arrhythmia. Excuse me I'm not a Barbie doll and not there to smile, I'm there to save your life and make sure the meds are working! He was quite the jerk, also lothario, his middle age live in girlfriend stayed the night sleeping in his bed with him no less, than I come to work the next night and he has a pretty young blonde playing cards with him, wondered if it was his daughter till she shook my hand and proudly proclaimed to be his girlfriend! After that he didn't even look me in the eye the rest of the night and no more demands to smile on cue! Later heard there was even another girlfriend visiting him the next day. Wonder if all these women knew about the other. Too bad they all didn't arrive at the same time! Now that would have been something to see!

klone, MSN, RN · Mar 26, 2015

I understand what she's saying.

On the other hand, I went to an ED last month (influenza, thought it might be turning into pneumonia) and the triage nurse (this was at 0715, nobody else in the ED, I was seriously the ONLY person there) was super unfriendly and just made me feel like I was wasting her time because I didn't have crushing chest pain or an SpO2 of 80%.

A kind smile really does go a long way.

And as a patient who was in pain and/or scared about what might be going on, I've experienced first-hand that empathy and kindness is as important as competence.

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 11, 2015

Woohoo! I got another one to fill out, and put in a comment like the OP's friend. Now if only we can get a trend started to push back against the customer service focus...