I'm sorry, but I didn't realize I signed up to please the customer. While the nurses go around reminding the patients this is a hospital, not a hotel, we get notices that we SHOULD make these people feel like they're in a hotel. Or "even if you know they're wrong, you should apologize and let them know that they're right" THIS IS AN ACTUAL MEMO THAT APPEARED IN MY MAILBOX.
... oh but it gets worse.
I got tapped on the shoulder by the "hospital customer service rep" telling me this patient (customer) really really wants a milkshake and would really make her day if she could have a milkshake. And I tell this rep this patient just had a bowel resection yesterday and not only can she NOT have a milkshake, but she probably can't even have water, even ice, for the next couple days. I spend all day listening to this patient whine and complain, and now the hospital has provided her a rep to follow me out in the hallway to whine and complain. And neither of them can admit that although a milkshake would make the patient really happy for about 15 mins, going back to surgery and prolonging the recovery would not. I know there's a lot of things in the medical field that seem downright cruel. But if we go by "the customer is always right" keep the patient/customer happy, there will be consequences.
Should customer service be #1 priority? Or am I just being delusional believing that patient safety is more important than patient satisfaction?
How illegal is that? Blatant racial discrimination and you could have really gone to town legally on that one. i never heard of anything so "In your face" as that. Wow must have been a war zone in that place. You were very smart to tender your resignation immediately,walk out that door and not look back.
Specializes in Telemetry, Home Health, Geriatrics.
By noon, i had given my resignation effective immediately. When the charge nurse said that wasnt professional, i said neither was my removal from patient care on the basis of my race. I told her to deal with it and take over for my shift.
Maybe it wasnt professional, but hospiatls have gone too far in treating nurses like indentured servants. Luckily i found a more 'nurse' friendly enviroment.
It is unfortunate that this happened to you. It has happened to people of color for decades...even compromising the patient's own care due to bigotry.
And i did fail to mention, that i documented all this in my nursing notes as to the events of this occurrence. Remember, if it isnt documented it wasnt done! And as one nurse later mentioned that people of Color have experienced blatent discrimination in the past. I never forget that others have suffered solely on the basis of apprearance, but this blog was on how we have coddled and catered to the whims of patients and have forgotten as to WHY these people are in the hospital in the first place.
Maybe our nursing shortage will lessen when we are respected MORE by the adminsitration for our unselfishness and dedication and less by nit-picking. PUT THE CARE BACK IN CARING!
Customer service is important as is providing good care and as a black nurse, I've had experiences with racism, so you're in good company. They are definitely not fun. Once, upon trying to enforce visiting restrictions in a 6-bed intensive care pod, I was told by a parent that he would not let a N dictate when he could see his child. The visiting policies in this unit was based on the welfare of all of these complicated patients.
I politely informed him that this N did not develop the hospital's visiting policy and if he had complaints about this policy, he could do so with hospital administration and in the meantime he would have to leave the bedside just as every other parent had and return when visiting resumed.
Now let me say that this family had just discovered that their kid had a brain tumor that was thought to be inoperable. Based on this, it was really easy to start out very polite and professional, despite his behavior. I was feeling their pain. One of the other nurses also informed him that he would be escorted from the unit by security because he was disrupting everyone's visits. We switched patients thinking that might help the situation however I was the senoir nurse and the other nurses did come to me for troubleshooting and I guess he thought I was in charge.
Of course, soon it became apparent that this was more about my ethnicity than the visiting policy. This came to a head with him walking toward me shaking his fists and verbalizing his violent intent and I really had to end it. I politely informed him of what I would do to him if he so much as touched me-how he would ultimately end up hurt AND in jail. I never raised my voice. Apparently, he believed me and toned it down, though he glowered something awful. If looks could kill....
He "reported" me to administration but so many people, staff and visitors had witnessed both his behavior and mine....nothing came of it and administration ended up apologizing to me. I avoided caring for his kid of course, in this instance, this was good customer service. I didn't want to draw a line, I just wanted it to stop, for the good of the patients, parents and staff.
From time to time, this type of thing just happens. This is not the only time something similar has happened to me. I grew up, as a kid and a nurse in the 70s and 80s. The only thing I can say is to try to remain as professional as possible (it can be really hard at times) and realize that the facility doesn't pick it's patients.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
i have not been on this site in several months, but saw a headline in my e-mail that caught my attention and after reading all the posts on this topic, felt compelled to comment. i have been in nursing for over 20 years, so i'm not new to the field. i recall the days of restricted visiting hours, and have worked in almost every area of the hospital. i can honestly say that i am simply appalled by some of the comments i'm reading on here, the sarcasm, the general "meanness" that's coming through from some of the posters. i have to believe that people go into nursing because they actually care for people.....what has happened to get your focus away from caring for your patient, rather than performing tasks? what i'm reading are statements from several nurses who seem to think that the patient and his/her family members are a hindrance to them being able to perform their tasks....when in reality, the patient and the family members are the only reason you have a job. and the harsh reality is, they do have a choice (in most cases) of where to go for their healthcare needs.
put yourself in their shoes.....would you want to be treated the way it appears that you treat your patients and their loved ones? how would you feel if your family member was in the hospital and you were treated like a visitor at a prison rather than a hospital? imagine that you're not a nurse and don't have any knowledge of medicine.....perhaps then, those requests wouldn't seem so unreasonable...they simply don't know better, and it's your job as the caregiver to educate them.
it has been proven that patients recover faster when they have a strong support system (a.k.a., family members). a smart nurse would utilize that resource to help in the patient's recovery. many hospitals have recognized this and even included the family in the healthcare team. for the person who stated "what if the patient codes in the middle of the night and the family is in the way".......look at the other side of that....what if the patient codes, and you just finished your rounds and won't be back in that room for an hour....the family member is the one who will notice something isn't right and alert you. what a shame to not respect this valuable part of the healthcare team.
bottom line...if you're so miserable being a nurse and dealing with patient and their families, get out of the profession. you're making all the other caring nurses look bad, and hurting your hospital's reputation. when the hospital loses business, cutbacks have to be made....this means layoffs, payroll freezes, and other "drastic" measures. your bad attitude is costing everyone.
obviously you feel very strongly, but the only "bad attitude" i see here is someone self-righteously telling others they don't belng in nursing. it's unfortunate you cannot be as supportive of your colleagues as you seem to feel you're being of your visitors.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
as an "old nurse" of 30+ years, i see a frightening trend in our hospitals: patient satisfaction is the most important measure of a good hospital! not patient safety, not patient health improvement but patient happiness! i feel like i am being asked to be a hostess at a resort, not a nurse!
my "mantra" has always been "patient safety first"....
a "nice nurse" is not synonomous with a "good nurse"!
i hate this trend towards patient satisfaction as the primary measure of good nursing.
i think we are going to be stuck with it for a while, so patient/family education will be more necessary than ever! haze
you're absolutely right about the frightening trend toward press-gainey as a measure of a hospital and a nursing staff. there's a big difference between a "nice nurse" and a "good nurse." i don't expect the patients and their families to understand the difference, but what disturbs me is that so many of our colleagues don't seem to, either.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
wow...i don't have time to read through all the responses but what strikes me is the negativity here. have none of you been in the hospital? have you never had a loved one in the hospital? each of us as nurses knows intimately the kinds of mistakes that can happen so we of all people should be understanding when family members want to be around. i am personally very grateful that when i was hospitalized i had a family member with me 24 hrs/day because it ended up preventing several serious errors and facilitated my pain control which, unfortunately, the rns did not seem interested in taking charge of.
of course we have a responsibility to educate and yes, in my 32 years i have run into many challenging family situations. but isn't that one of the things we are trained for? our job is to provide holistic care and the family is part of the package. who do you think will be assisting that patient when they leave us?
and bravo to the writer who pointed out that we are not medicine, we are nursing and we are our own profession...be proud of it!
i respectfully submit that if you haven't read through all the posts, you don't know about the whole tone of the thread.
yes, i've been a patient in the hospital, as has my husband and my father and my mother. i still maintain that visiting hours need to be brought back -- both as a nurse and as a consumer of healthcare. when i was a patient, my roommate's large, loud, burger-king eating family just on the other side of the curtain as i was suffering from a csf leak with all the accompanying nausea and vomiting did not enhance my hospital experience. i doubt very much that they enhanced hers much, either, as she screamed at them most of the day and night. (that didn't help my headache much, either!)
when my father was dying, unlimited visiting hours didn't do much for my mother, either. mother has alzheimer's, and she was almost impossible to pull away from the bedside to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom. (dad's roommate wasn't really enthused about my mother being in there when he needed to use it.) had the nurses insisted that we leave, it would have been far easier to remove my mother from the bedside so that she could eat or sleep -- and since i couldn't leave her there unsupervised, so that *i* could eat, sleep or use the bathroom.
people seem to be taking their cues about how to behave when a family member is hospitalized from television shows like "er" and "house," or from the reader's digest and redbook articles that advise that if you love your family member, you should never leave their bedside, you should take notes about what the staff is doing to "prevent errors" and "ensure proper care" and that you should loudly and vociferously "advocate" for whatever it is you in your infinite wisdom think your family member needs. i'm all for visitors at the bedside if they're helpful and supportive. unfortunately, so few of them are -- even (and i'm embarrassed to admit this) my own family.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I have not been on this site in several months, but saw a headline in my e-mail that caught my attention and after reading all the posts on this topic, felt compelled to comment. I have been in nursing for over 20 years, so I'm not new to the field. I recall the days of restricted visiting hours, and have worked in almost every area of the hospital. I can honestly say that I am simply appalled by some of the comments I'm reading on here, the sarcasm, the general "meanness" that's coming through from some of the posters. I have to believe that people go into nursing because they actually CARE for people.....what has happened to get your focus away from CARING for your patient, rather than performing TASKS? What I'm reading are statements from several nurses who seem to think that the patient and his/her family members are a hindrance to them being able to perform their tasks....when in reality, the patient AND the family members are the only reason you have a job. And the harsh reality is, they DO have a choice (in most cases) of where to go for their healthcare needs.
Put yourself in their shoes.....would you want to be treated the way it appears that you treat your patients and their loved ones? How would you feel if your family member was in the hospital and you were treated like a visitor at a prison rather than a hospital? Imagine that you're not a nurse and don't have any knowledge of medicine.....perhaps then, those requests wouldn't seem so unreasonable...they simply don't know better, and it's your job as the CAREGIVER to educate them.
It has been proven that patients recover faster when they have a strong support system (a.k.a., family members). A smart nurse would utilize that resource to help in the patient's recovery. Many hospitals have recognized this and even included the family in the healthcare team. For the person who stated "What if the patient codes in the middle of the night and the family is in the way".......look at the other side of that....what if the patient codes, and you just finished your rounds and won't be back in that room for an hour....the family member is the one who will notice something isn't right and alert you. What a shame to not respect this valuable part of the healthcare team.
Bottom line...if you're so miserable being a nurse and dealing with patient and their families, get out of the profession. You're making all the other caring nurses look bad, and hurting your hospital's reputation. When the hospital loses business, cutbacks have to be made....this means layoffs, payroll freezes, and other "drastic" measures. Your bad attitude is costing everyone.
I won't admit how much time I have spent reading every post in this thread thus far, but I had to stop here and comment. I just wanted to commend your post. YOU are the kind of nurse that made me want to become a nurse. Well actually it was the bad ones to but you are what made me want to be a nurse for the right reasons. I have sat here reading this thread shaking my head and saying WOW, coming to your post and a few previous ones was a breath of fresh air.
Now I am not a nurse so I don't know what it is like to be on that side of the fence, I have been a patient for the past 15 years, well obviously my whole life but a lot in the last 15 years.I have had 1 child in the hospital for more then one night twice (which btw I would have NEVER left alone for the night in this unfamiliar place so young). Point being, I have had PLENTY of experiences with nurses and doctors from a Patient and Family POV. I have also worked in plenty of CS jobs and yes I think nursing is a lot of CS w/other elements of course. I also worked 5 years in Childcare where you had annoying parents and so on. IMO part of what makes a good RN is the way you handle these situations. All CS type jobs you will have difficult people to attend with. I never understood people that got into these fields that seemed to have a general dislike for most people. (not saying I saw this here, I am just speaking in General). Some of the posts just have me flabbergasted, what kind of job did you think you were getting into? If you didn't want to give that personal warmth and caring and reassurance and extra help to the patient then maybe this job isn't for you or you would be better suited as a Dr. Because I would certainly expect more of this ( I am so above this) attitude from them. (again, just speaking in general here)
As a patient I could put into 3 catergories of the types of nurses I have dealt with. First let me say, I know for a fact I am not a difficult patient. In fact I have had so many nurses tell me I was a dream patient and they wish a lot of patients were like me. I don't push or be rude unless someone is being rude to me, but even with that, in a hospital setting I usually wouldn't even push back then because I already felt so helpless. I usually take things well and realize people are human. Shoot when I had my daughter and they had taken her back for the bath and tests and stuff many hours had passed, I asked this very friendly nurse if I could see her yet and she went to check and said yes and she would bring her to me in about 15 mins. I waited 2 hours before I paged again to ask and she felt so terrible because she forgot. She was really beating herself up and I made sure to let her know it was no problem and it was totally ok. So I am not unreasonable by any means. I am pretty laid back when it comes to mistakes and mishaps unless of course your driving and I am stuck behind you :| So the 3 types of nurses I always came across,
Nurse A) did her "tasks" did them correctly, was not very friendly or warm. Hardly said more then 2 words to me and if I had to page for something, would often let it be known they had other or better things they could be doing. So sure, this nurse was fast and efficient in getting their work done and done correctly, but had the personality of a rock and made me have to dread having to bother them for anything. I mean honestly, no this isn't a hotel, but as patients we can't do a lot of things we are used to doing, that is humilating enough and yes your job or someones job is to get me some water if I run out, or some crackers if I am hungry and so on, why?? Because I can not do it myself. I would never be rude about it, but come on. It's humilating enough to be confined and on display and poked and proded, to have to ask for help to pee, do loose your self dignity and any sense of privacy. Put yourself in the patients shoes. Do you really think I want to ask for you to hold my hand so I can pee? Believe me as modest as I am it's the LAST thing I want. After my hysterocomy I was hemorraging and I had gotten so compacted from my recotcille repair that I was mortified, I didn't want to tell nurse that I was in so much pain because I could not poop and it had been 5 days w/ me being on heavy narcotics. In fact after my second surgery from fixing the tear in another spot and decompacting me I apologized to the OR nurses for having to do that dirty deed. I am a pretty open book but stuff like that is very humiliating to me. So a little warmth and TLC goes a long way. I would rather have a good nurse that can show warmth and compassion, then a good nurse work wise but made me feel like I was such a bother to them and like I was just another number in the cattle line. Which BTW I HATE when I am told, don't worry you seen one lady parts you seen them all. I am an individual, not another number, you may have seen 100 but you haven't seen mine and it's still embarissing and humiliating none the less. My husband had to at least buy me dinner and a movie first
Nurse B) Was a good and efficient nurse but had also a very warm personality. Wasn't rude, wasn't over bearing, showed that she cared about you, called you by name, asked you more then just the standard question for her report. Took the time to ask if you were hungy, would like some more water, wanted her to take your tray and so on. Took that extra step to make sure that you were happy, it wasn't even ass kissing, it was simply human understanding and compassion. Was essential there to "nurse" you back to health, not just physically but emotionally. THIS is the kind of nurse I want to be! THIS is the type of nurse I think everyone should have. I can not tell you what a world of difference it makes to have a nurse like this. To me this is what nursing is all about. Absolutely it is customer service, but not because you want the customer to buy a product. It's because You have a genuwine care and concern for people and you want to help them get better in times where that extra effort takes away the fears and anxiety they are already dealing with.
Nurse A) is also why I wanted to be a Nurse, but as a what NOT to do from personal expierence. I wanted to show people how wonderful it is to have NurseB.
Now nurse c isn't a bad nurse per say but one that brings way to many personal problems to work. I can't tell you how many unproffesional nurses I have seen. Telling me about there co workers, there charge nurse, there B/F is such a jerk and so on.
I am sorry this is so long but this post brought up so emoption for me from a Patients POV.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
as an "old nurse" of 30+ years, I see a frightening trend in our hospitals: patient satisfaction is the most important measure of a good hospital! Not patient safety, not patient health improvement but patient happiness! I feel like I am being asked to be a hostess at a resort, not a nurse!
My "mantra" has always been "Patient Safety First"....
A "nice nurse" is NOT synonomous with a "good nurse"!
I always explain the difference to my patients and their families. Ex. after delivering a baby, the nurse must massage the uterine fundus to check for bleeding, to minimize postpartum blood loss. This does NOT feel very good and just plain hurts most of the time! Most patients complain, and families often ask me to not do this procedure because the patient complains of pain, and have just giving birth. My explination? "Do you want a good nurse or a nice nurse?" I go on to explain that a nice nurse would not do funal massage because it hurts... then when the patient gets out of bed, they could often pass massive amounts of blood and clots, even faint and fall to the floor, perhaps requiring a blood transfusion OR, I could be a good nurse and do fundal massage, even though it is uncomfortable, and help the patient safely recover from the delivery." .... guess what all of them pick?
I hate this trend towards patient satisfaction as the primary measure of good nursing.
I think we are going to be stuck with it for a while, so patient/family education will be more necessary than ever! Haze
I had a complaint against me the other day from a nurse from another hospital who happened to come into the ER. She was very upset that she had to wait for me to clean her minor abrasions (not even bad enough for stitches) as there was a code going on that was taking up my and the other nurses time. I did go in and clean and dress her wound and did try and make her happy but she was not going to be consoled. States that another nursing professional should get first priority. Excuse me for doing CPR on someone guess she just did not get it. Even went so far as to stand in her doorway and critique the nurses running back and forth getting meds and arranging for transport to another hospital for this critical patient. She even went so far as to call admin and say that she advised the docs she worked with to not come in to this ER even if they were dying. I got called in and had to defend myself. Sure makes you re think your priorities.
On the contrary, I find Catherine's comments refreshingly honest. If any nurse is THAT unhappy in his/her job, it's time for a career change. Nursing is not a field for those who aren't totally committed to it. What is wrong with being nice while also being a competent nurse?
obviously you feel very strongly, but the only "bad attitude" i see here is someone self-righteously telling others they don't belng in nursing. it's unfortunate you cannot be as supportive of your colleagues as you seem to feel you're being of your visitors.
i am completely supportive of my colleagues, but i cannot support nurses who have forgotten how to care for others. i became a nurse to take care of patients, and their family members, those visitors you seem to discredit, are a vital part of their recovery. i did not become a nurse to coddle rude nurses with chips on their shoulders.
.thumb.jpg.5aa4d55557c0228e31b94de19666bbbb.jpg){kind=small}
So the 3 types of nurses I always came across, 
joaniej231
17 Posts
How illegal is that? Blatant racial discrimination and you could have really gone to town legally on that one. i never heard of anything so "In your face" as that. Wow must have been a war zone in that place. You were very smart to tender your resignation immediately,walk out that door and not look back.