It seems like no matter how hard we try, our percentage of "very good" responses continue to drop. How do you get the patients to mark very good as opposed to "good" on the survey they get in the mail?
I am so sick of trying my best to take good care of my patients and then get it thrown back in my face because it wasn't "very good care" according to the returned patient surveys.
Look at the questions. It does not say, "did the nurse abuse or hurt you"?
It's like..was the nurse concerned with your privacy...so you say, Let me close the door and provide you with some privacy...did the nurse introduce herself..so you say, Hi, I am ..., I will be the nurse "caring" for you today..(don't say taking care..on our survey it says did the nurse care about ....)and you must be or are ...
Just read the survey, reheorifice the answers, and then, when you reheorifice it enough, you will be able to "cue your patients to answer it correctly..
Now, we do have patients that no one can ever satisfy..
But, you have still provided privacy, introduced yourself by name, etc. and they really can't deny that..then, overall care will probably not be so good, but..
Anyway, this is actually a trick, but when trials have been performed on live people, it actually worked...
Now, to get people to remember your name and mention you, you have to be extremely nice, nonjudgemental, and go way out of your way...check on them frequently, look in on them and say goodbye, etc. (and candy and gum work well as bribes as well) You have to take the time to get to know what they really would like..and give it to them if possible..sometimes all they want is a smiling face..but not very often..
Good luck
Thanks for the tips. I don't know about your ER but what kills our scores are parking and doctors. Well, you can only do so much!
candy or gum as bribes???? with my luck the pt would choke on it ...plus the whole idea of a bribe seems kinda slimy to me.
I do not give bribes of any sort. I give the best care that I am capable of given the situation and treat the patient and family with respect and kindness - that is the best that I can do.
I introduce myself each shift as "hello, I'm...and I will be with you tonight". When I leave the room I remind them that I will be checking in frequently, that if they are asleep I will try not to wake them unless necessary, and that they should not hesitate to call inbetween if they need anything. When I leave in the morning I say goodbye if they are awake and wish them a good day. Whenever possible I try to learn a little bit about them, get to know them and infuse some humor - maybe get them to laugh - good therapy for anyone!
Our hospital uses a system where for every ten positive written comments that you save and turn in you get a pin. I have only gotten two so far because I don't solicit compliments. Anyway, where would I wear tons of them?
A large portion of our patient population is Hispanic and non-English speaking and I do my best to communicate with them as well as possible and really treat them well (a lot of nurses treat them like do-do). I never hear comments from these people because often they do not have a lot of education and can't speak English, but I sure feel good inside when I see them smile. One patient I had a few months ago gave me some sort of little decorative thing her mother had made for the people who took really good care of her. It is quite a piece of work - not fine art by any means but it means more to me than ten pins. I display it proudly in my family room.
In the meantime I keep all the candy and gum for myself....if my kids dont get it first
Our Hosp doesnt carry bandaids than the generic boring ones. So I always carry a box of decorator bandaids or fred flintstone ones, or dallas cowboy ones or dallas stars ones.
Customer Service has been a major focus for us, especially in our ED that just finished major reconstrustion. We have not found a magic formula either. Our surveys go out to everyone before their bill. I have been known to respond to thank you's on discharge with a "your welcome- my name is Kate so you can fill our survey out when it comes" they usually think that is funny. Advice from management has been to make sure to ask if there is anything else they need. This gives them the feeling we have time for them- even if we do not. On the floor we are trying out a plan- to spend 5 minutes sitting with the patient discussing goals for the day. The study we read says patients will percieve it as much longer than 5 minutes and that it has positive impacts oin the surveys.
As far as why we care about the survey results- we are piloting a model of Shared Success. If they survey results and the net income of the organization are at predeterimed levels at year end we all get a bonus check in ratio to our pay level. Not such a bad deal if it works.
It seems like no matter how hard we try, our percentage of "very good" responses continue to drop. How do you get the patients to mark very good as opposed to "good" on the survey they get in the mail?
I am so sick of trying my best to take good care of my patients and then get it thrown back in my face because it wasn't "very good care" according to the returned patient surveys.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Pam
Yes, it is frustrating when you try your very best and go above and beyond to care for your patient's needs. I think it might be a part of the entitlement mentality patient's have these days. I have to tell myself frequently when my best is just not good enough. (I can only do so much, I am only one person)....it helps!
The hospital I work at uses Press-Ganey scores and we have the same problem. We are "nagged" frequently that our scores aren't high enough. While I admit there are some nurses who give just the basics in care the majority of us give our all 99% of the time. Some of the negative scores are related to wait times, pain management - things that as the nurse I have no control over. One question that management loves relates to knowing the nurses name; I can tell the patient my name everytime I step into the room but most of the time they don't remember it a month later when the survey comes in the mail. Like others - I do my best by every patient and have to accept that I can't change the world.
We have one girl who always gets mentioned, gets cards and letters blah blah. She comes in on days off to take patients to see the fireworks on July 4th, buys them cake for parties when they are inpatient on holidays, etc etc. She has no life, and lives for the validation she gets for doing this stuff. Good for her.. whatever floats your boat.
i don't care what the surveys say, i know that i can sleep good at night knowing i took care of the patients to the best of my ability. as long as i don't get negative comments (which i haven't) i don't sweat it. you can never please everyone and the one's who are pleased usually forget about it or cloud their memories with those who weren't so good.
.thumb.gif.11fa0ddb3aacfb1b3953bc671abcfb7e.gif){kind=avatar}
MrsWampthang, BSN, RN
511 Posts
Thanks for the tips. I don't know about your ER but what kills our scores are parking and doctors.
Well, you can only do so much!
Again, thanks,
Pam