Grr! "Customer Service" Nursing Gone Crazy!

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 21, 2009

as a cna in an icu, i've certainly seen my share of families who expect too much and abuse the generosity of the institution. however, i've also learned that sometimes all it takes to make someone happy (whether it's a patient or their needy family members) is a creature comfort like ice cream, coffee, or a warm blanket. i've found that when i take the extra few minutes to tidy up the patient's room and offer kindnesses to their loved ones, my shift ends up going much more smoothly. making a patient or family feel "special" equals fewer call lights for me to answer. it's a win-win situation most of the time. we all know that when a whole family is crowded into a room trying to help their mother/father/child/etc. die, they don't take the time to grab a drink or a bite to eat. ordering a family cart from the kitchen--or putting together something simple after hours--doesn't take all that long and the family is always very grateful for the gesture.
however, i do feel that these tasks should be delegated to support staff, and only if time allows. nurses need to focus on the important, life-saving stuff. while families can be a royal pain sometimes, i think having a good team of cnas, hucs, etc. can also lighten the load on nurses.

you must work at the hilton! where i work, i find it difficult to get "creature comforts" such as a blanket (any blanket -- no warm ones for us), a meal tray or uncontaminated water for our patients, much less for their numerous loved ones. our meal tray cart from the kitchen -- for the patients, because there is no such thing for the family -- arrives late or gets delivered to the wrong unit and consumed about half of the time.

and as far as support staff? theoreticlly, we have them but i think it's a myth. you see them clock in and clock out but where they go in between is a mystery!

nurse441 · Dec 21, 2009

Does your employer expect you to make the sandwich, call the kitchen for it, or tell him to go to the coffee shop, or what?
What did you do about all of his other wishes - the armbands, etc.? Do you even have these to give?
If you were not required to comply, I hope you didn't.
I think you should have been able to add 2 more patients, or at least 1 more, to your assignment sheet, with these time-consuming activities with which you were confronted.

of course i didn't comply! these were just silly wishes i came across during nursing school. dad was sent to cafeteria pronto. btw this was 2nd year nursing school on Postpartum..i was still a newbie helping out my nurse. :)

Music in My Heart · Dec 21, 2009

Yes, and place the machines right next to the diabetes education department.
Bad, bad Moogie!!!

You've got quite the business mind there, Moogie. It's kind of like the concept of designed obsolescence wherein products are intentionally built to be just reliable enough to sell but unreliable enough to require regular replacement.

maxthecat · Dec 21, 2009

You've got quite the business mind there Moogie. It's kind of like the concept of designed obsolescence wherein products are intentionally built to be just reliable enough to sell but unreliable enough to require regular replacement.[/quote']
Well, she is a Ferengi after all.

Moogie · Dec 22, 2009

Well, she is a Ferengi after all.

ROTFL!

The Grand Nagus thought your comment was pretty funny, too.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Dec 22, 2009

In long-term care, one of the trends that administrators are touting is the "universal worker", someone who can toilet and clean residents, then go to the kitchen to help serve, and pitch in to help housekeeping when the shift is over. When an administrator shared this "brilliant" notion with me, I asked him if that meant someone was supposed to wear many hats during a shift (do direct care as well as working with food or housekeeping) or if it meant that some workers would be trained in many areas and, depending on the day of the week, they would work the floor OR the kitchen OR housekeeping. He said---with a smile---that the "universal worker" would work wherever he/she was needed and if that meant working in multiple areas in one day, so be it. Then I asked him about infection control and got some BS answer about how I shouldn't "worry" about that. :angryfire

Did you suggest, that since he doesn't actually work with medically vulnerable pts, that he should be trained as a "universal worker" and be pulled out fof his comfy position several times per day?

Moogie · Dec 22, 2009

Did you suggest, that since he doesn't actually work with medically vulnerable pts, that he should be trained as a "universal worker" and be pulled out fof his comfy position several times per day?

Good point; wish I'd thought of it at the time! The trouble is, this was one of the better managers at the facility.

MedSurgeMess · Dec 22, 2009

Bad, bad Moogie!!!

Funny, funny Moogie!

MedSurgeMess · Dec 22, 2009

ROTFL!
The Grand Nagus thought your comment was pretty funny, too.

I love Moogie and the Grand Nagus, I always thought they were such a cute couple....

RNman09 · Dec 23, 2009

Yes, no more patient now client and customer service not patient care:no:

psalm, RN · Dec 23, 2009

Sorry, I refuse to call my patients "clients". And it's patient care, not customer service.

CamillusRN, BSN · Feb 26, 2015

:angryfire Ohh I'm so irritated today. Today was one of "those" shifts...the kind you dread. I'm especially frustrated with the way patients/families treat us nurses, and the administration that encourages such behavior. There is absolutely no more respect in this "customer service" focused society. People want everything right now....no matter what. Today I had some real doozies. The family of one guy was killing me. They were literally barking orders at me like I was a short-order cook. They constantly wanted drinks, food, blankets...for themselves! We were told recently by management that taking care of the family is part of our job, and we were to comply in any way we can -- so yep, I have to make rounds to bring drinks/trays/snacks to entire families now. I'm literally waiting on able-bodied 19 year olds who have an inkling for a Coke. Nevermind a patient next door is circling the drain....Junior needs some ice for the drink he brought in pronto! I'm just so sick of this I contemplate quitting at least a dozen times a day! Anyone else feel this way!?

F*** YES! And to top it all off, I'm on a committee to help promote this BS for my hospital (wasn't put on it by choice, either). I hate, hate, hate the way our healthcare system is being pushed around solely for the benefit of the upper-tier and the Medicare/Medicaid conglomerate. Patients, practitioners, and providers all lose with this HCRAPS (ya, I know I spelled it wrong :yes: ). I can only hope it was designed by well-meaning people for a well-meaning purpose, but at the end of the day it's nothing more than finding a new way to oppress the people who are in the trenches on the front lines of healthcare. And I hate that I've been chosen to help sugarcoat it and present it in a nice little purdy package for my peers. I know it's crap, my coworkers know it's crap, and the providers know it's crap. But it's how our hospital will be getting paid, so open wide for your yummy mouthful of crap, lovingly prepared and garnished by yours truly!

OK. Vent over. Thanks for listening!