This article points out the difference between good and great patient care. I use an example from my experience with my recent orientee. Also, it shows what appears to be great time management is not always indicative of quality patient care.
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I thought about this question as I reflected on my day with my new orientee who has been with me for almost two weeks now. She is a new grad but does have previous military experience as a medic. She has far exceeded my expectations so far during this orientation. We were extremely busy the other day but still able to provide great care for our patients.
These are patients with new head and neck cancer with flaps that have new tracheostomies and require a lot of teaching. We were successful in ambulating all of these patients and teaching them to the best of our ability.
Now, I know what you are going to say. These are just part of basic nursing care.
That is true, but some nurses will avoid those tasks since they can get through the day without actually having to do them. What I mean by that is these are often things that need to be initiated by the nurse since the patient does not know they need to be done or is not motivated.
The point is, I have been a nurse for a while now and have noticed through the years that some nurses seem to always have their work done and this is not always indicative of a job well done.
The nurses that seem to have it all figured out from a time management perspective do not always provide a high level of patient care. I will see these same nurses talking about personal issues or navigating the internet when there are things that can be done to raise the quality of care they provide to their patients. This does not surprise me and I am sure it happens in every profession, but I think some nurses label themselves as slow when they are actually just providing great care.
My orientee and I did not have to ambulate and teach these patients as much as we did and we did not have to think critically or keep their rooms as clean as we did. We did it, because it is the best thing for the patient, and it will allow them to recover faster and have a more successful transition back into their normal life with a decreased chance of re-admittance.
That day my orientee seemed to be a little worried about her time management as she observed other nurses having an easier day. I pointed out to her that she has only been on orientation for two weeks and she is providing a very high level of care which she should be proud of. I told her it takes more time to provide high level care and others may not be doing the same.
Almost always there is something that can be done to improve your patient's level of care. If you have time after providing great care for your patients then be a team player by helping another nurse who is struggling. This will help her bring up her level of patient care. In the end we all want what is best for our patients. What is one example of where you have gone the extra mile to provide better patient care when you did not have to?
