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?
I was at one of Laura Gasparios' conferences last year in Jamaca and one of the speakers there had that tee shirt "I am a nurse I am here to save your a$$ not kiss it." I have worn it many times and am tempted to wear it to the picnic on employees day.
As an experienced ED nurse, I've heard some of the most ridiculous requests from patients and families. We have a policy of 1 visitor per patient at a time, though do allow for exceptions, such as a dying patient so family might see them once more. Some colleagues don't follow those rules and then when the new shift shows and tries to enforce the 1 visitor policy, we look like lousy enforcers. We have small, outdated, and cramped areas for patient care and cannot work efficiently or safely while literally stepping over visitors to draw bloods, start IVs, give meds, or, in one case, defibrillate a patient.
My primary duty is to ensure patient safety and care, and to educate the patient and family about their condition and care. I am not a waitress or gofer. If that affects the Press-Gaineys, too bad.
I have been punched, spat upon, sworn at, vomited on, and had filth thrown at me and still provided excellent nursing care. However, you may not always get "service with a smile".
"this hurts. i did care! i would have loved to have given each pt a backrub but simply no time if safe nursing care was going to be given. this is one of many reasons i left hospital nursing. add to that demanding families who wanted "customer service" which i had no time to offer...grrrrr.... i ran from the bedside screaming. i could no longer do the impossible and work incredibly hard, only to have people say i did not care or complain that their pillow was not fluffy enough, that they didn't get a back rub, or they did not have fresh ice in their water jug. how about being thankful that i promptly hung your cardizem drip and kept you from going back into rapid, uncontrolled a fib?? "
:yeahthat:
a giant standing ovation to you!!!
why is it we never get any appreciation for the things we actually do get right??
I love hospital nursing, I really do. I love most aspects of my job. Ok, here goes vent:
I am SO sick of rude, hateful, mean, ungrateful, unappreciative patients and family members (mostly family members) that have never heard of "please, thank you, excuse me, if you have a minute can you..., next time you come in here, can you..., etc.".
I am SO sick of people coming up to the desk and screaming, "my [family member] needs [whatever]" or "where is [family member]?" when I am OBVIOUSLY on the phone, in a conversation with a doctor or other nurse, writing an order or typing a discharge.
I am SO sick of family members threatening me, either with threat of physical violence or with lawsuit.
Maybe it's just because I'm from the South, but my mama raised me with manners. I learned it was rude to interrupt someone who is busy. I learned it was rude to scream at people. I learned it was rude to threaten other people, especially those who are a lifeline.
I guess I'm dreaming, but I think that, to a certain degree, mgmt should draw the line when people get like this and support us. Instead, they go back to the office.
Hey Scrubby, you could not have said it better! I know that this is a little off topic, (but then half the thread has been) there are benefits to a universal healthcare system, even if it means less of the "customer focus".
Oh a as a staff nurse in the UK NHS i would say we have pt and families that want pillow fluffed. And my hosptial is a multi speciality foundation still a public hospitla but not managed by the department of health, howeer to maintian this it needs to met patient saftery and satisfaction targets. To get patietns for electie treatment it needs to have the reputation of being patient friendly. I howeer work on a rehab ward only catering to the local area but patients are more demanding. however most can be cared for by what nursese do anyway maintain saftey and provide comfort and be treated with respect.
".............. I'm glad the Atkins diet worked for you, however, I do not know if you are a 50+ male with HTN, HLD, DM, and admitted to my unit for atypical chest pain. When I asked him to explain the diet to me (even though I've already known about it), in his words he explained that this is one of the most high fat diets."
No, I was a 30 something "Inservice Coordinator" at an acute care hospital in San Francisco at that time, desperate to drop the 20 pounds left from a year on Weight Watchers, so I could fit more easily behind the wheel of my new MGB. I always recommend weight watchers' program, as it's so balanced, to patients and others. Now I'm a month short of 70 years of age (that still surprises me), learning from all of you in yet another new generation, about the rigors of your work. We all have done the best we can to fit as much into our shifts as possible, to give the best possible care that we can.
Sorry. I didn't know your (Atkins diet follower) patient's Dx, and "atypical chest pain" means to me, that it is different from that pain which most other patients experience (maybe pain radiating up the left arm, instead of down..... or right arm pain, etc.
I commented about the way and time you gave preventive instruction. As someone who has decades of patient education behind me, I've learned what and when patients are ready to learn; and it didn't seem from your post that your patient was in that frame of mind, yet it was on your list of "things to do" for him.
One of my worst cases of bad timing, was in a childbirth preparation class when I berated a couple for not remembering the material I'd taught the week before, because they hadn't practised those techniques. My face must have gone red to purple when they casually mentioned that their home and all their belongings had disappeared in a raging fire the week before, they were staying with people they didn't know well, on sofas, and all their clothes, furniture, etc. were gone - no insurance! That really taught me that there's usually a reason why people do what they do or don't do what is expected of them.
Changing behavior is extremely difficult, as most of us know. I learned that when, as the Infection Control Nurse at a county hospital, I had to implement Universal/standard precautions for the first time, get people to wear gloves when starting IVs, etc. Having said that, I can only imagine what Barack Obama is going through (but that's another topic), changing the whole country! And that explains the resistance directed at him, every step of the way..... I was certainly the target when HIV/AIDs meant frightening everyone about it (to get their attention), then telling them if they did all the things I recommended, there wasn't a chance they'd get it.
So I know now where you were coming from, and perhaps I was more blunt than was necessary. I'm sorry.
Yeah, bring back the visiting hours. What gets me is those married people who have been together say 40 years and when the other half goes into the hospital, the other one is there caring for their every whim and letting you know that everything you do is wrong! I agree that clients should be treated well after all, without their money I would not have a place to work but the a#$ kissing has got to stop.
I can understand your point especially if the other one is driving you crazy by pointing out where you are "wrong." I"ve been on both sides but it's like this I didn't leave my husband when he was in the hospital. He did not want me to leave but I"m also quiet & stayed out of his nurses way. I didn't boss them around ask them for food or something to drink. I'm not their pt & don't expect them to do a thing for me.
I'm sorry if some of his nurses may not have cared for me staying most of the night. I"m not married to them & I know my husband's anxiety level in a hospital far better then someone who met him 3 hours ago post op does regardless of their years of experience. No one knows another human better then the people who live with them.
Reality is this....the public has lost a lot of confidence in the medical field not just w/nurses. There are valid reasons why many families stay put. Far as rest or the things I've heard some nurses say about pts needing their rest is BS plain and simple. Going in & out of room 20 millions times day & night for blood draws, housekeeping, VS checks, med passes, etc not to mention listening to the incessant stream of gossiping and chatter outside the door from varioius members of the staff is not restful to anyone who is not already comatose. Anyone who still thinks people can rest in hospitals needs to sleep overnight in the unit they work in.
Now if the family is upsetting the pt, being abusive to staff, etc then they need to go....no question there. But if they stay peaceful, let the nurses do their jobs & remember that the nurse is not waitstaff or a punching bag then they should b allowed to stay.
80% of our overnight family members actually help us out with identifying the dementia patient's normal mental status, remembering medical history, knowing the patient's allergies, feeding the patient, fetching coffee, ringing the call light when the Cardizem drip line occludes, or things of that nature. We try to allow them to stay if we have room and we clarify - if we have room. That said, we're also in a rural community and don't have the violence seen in the city hospitals. There doesn't have to be a line between technical competency and customer service Shouldn't nurses strive for both? Yes, we put up with rude people and yes, it sucks. More than once i've told a patient to watch his/her language - there are elderly women down this hall.
Another little trick is to explain to the patient before bed that yes, i will have to be in to give a med at 1 a.m. and another med at 4 a.m. and vitals are at 6. You'd be amazed at how many pneumonia patients aren't bothered by breathing treatments q2h through the night because they want to get better. Little planning, little prep go along way. It also gives you a chance to explain plan of care when the patient is awake, before you flip on the lights at 4 a.m.
Specializes in Oncology, Nursing Home, Management, HH.
If some of you that are disgusted with nursing, patients, or family members, then you need to spend some time on the oncology/hospice unit of your facility. Granted the broken legs, gall bladders and other med-surg pts are a pain in the toosh, but the oncology/hospice pts and family members are the MOST GRATEFUL, APPRECIATATIVE AND LOVING people in the world. They love their nurses and staff. Many times after discharge or passing we continue to hear from pts and family members. Please spend some time with these wonderful people. You will get more hugs, "please", "thank you" and "if you coulds" than you could ever imagine. It will renew your spirit in pts and families.
Another little trick is to explain to the patient before bed that yes, i will have to be in to give a med at 1 a.m. and another med at 4 a.m. and vitals are at 6. You'd be amazed at how many pneumonia patients aren't bothered by breathing treatments q2h through the night because they want to get better. Little planning, little prep go along way. It also gives you a chance to explain plan of care when the patient is awake, before you flip on the lights at 4 a.m.
Really? I hadn't thought of that one before. Explaining the plan of care.....hm. I'm going to have to try that one sometime.
dede1956
70 Posts
I was at one of Laura Gasparios' conferences last year in Jamaca and one of the speakers there had that tee shirt "I am a nurse I am here to save your a$$ not kiss it." I have worn it many times and am tempted to wear it to the picnic on employees day.