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?
You know, I am all for good customer service but as I have told all who want to bend over for EVERYTHING....even DISNEY kicks people out of the park for not following the rules.
There are reasons people may or may not do certain things, this is especially true in healthcare.
Education must begin when the patient walks through the door, this should include expectations of behavior and rest time. Don't allow it to get out of hand before it does! Right now in the ER if it is a slow morning and I have a whole bunch of people I will greet them, but also advise them that the rule of 2 per patient WILL BE ENFORCED AS THE ER GETS CROWDED. No surprises, no nastiness....it was expected. I have never had a problem when the ground rules have been laid down. Then again, I have alot of other experiences other than nursing.
You can have good customer service WITH RULES! Administrations just have not recognized this yet. Customer service has many tiers, and employees are the internal customer.
I hope you're able to explain rules without also intimating a threat of what will happen if they aren't followed. That's like a non nurturing parent who lays the ground rules for their kids, and immediately tells them what will happen if they don't do as they're told, almost challenging them. They rise to the challenge, and we're off to the races........
As you know, patients regress when ill, and so do families, and you're left monitoring the playground. Direct, respectful adult-adult communication really does the trick in your work situation. Rather than telling them what they can't do, try explaining the boundaries of what they CAN DO, in a calm, expectant way. It works!
Yes, and Grey's Anatomy featuring the worst mistakes and staff conduct imaginable. (And the most random, remote possible outcomes are the status quo prognoses.) This show has become a dark comedy to me!
It sure is, with prima donna surgeons caring most about their own reactions. I yell at my TV set, "Grow up, for God's sake!" And in what closet did they stash the nurses?
You know, I am all for good customer service but as I have told all who want to bend over for EVERYTHING....even DISNEY kicks people out of the park for not following the rules.
There are reasons people may or may not do certain things, this is especially true in healthcare.
Education must begin when the patient walks through the door, this should include expectations of behavior and rest time. Don't allow it to get out of hand before it does! Right now in the ER if it is a slow morning and I have a whole bunch of people I will greet them, but also advise them that the rule of 2 per patient WILL BE ENFORCED AS THE ER GETS CROWDED. No surprises, no nastiness....it was expected. I have never had a problem when the ground rules have been laid down. Then again, I have alot of other experiences other than nursing.
You can have good customer service WITH RULES! Administrations just have not recognized this yet. Customer service has many tiers, and employees are the internal customer.
M
This is my thoughts exactly. Never am I nasty when enforcing the rules. Rules are there for a reason. I do educate when the pt comes into my ICU, but I can't help but be the "bad guy" enforcing the rules when I am the first one to do so. Sorry but I am a customer to the health system too. I expect to be treated with the respect that I deserve. There are rules everywhere, but some think they don't have to follow the rules and sorry but rules apply to everyone.
Some of the rules are there for the well being of the patient and need to be enforced. I will ask visitors to leave when the patients bp is too high or if they are upsetting the patient. I am nice about it, but sometimes I make the visitor angry no matter how I explain.
I am not going to please everyone and I know that. I just wish admin and press gainey understood too.
I am always pleasant even under the worst circumstances, however my point is setting the groundwork early makes it very easy to enforce the rules later. It's unsafe to be falling over people, it invades peoples privacy and honestly if you present it in that fashion....RARELY....have I had anyone give me problems over it. If so, the others have usually pointed out their family member's errors and controlled it!
As for the internal customer, YOU BET YOU ARE A CUSTOMER TOO! If there are issues within an organization, you and your fellows are OWED the same courtesy as everyone else. If your organization does not demand it, then they are doing you all a disservice. If you are not courteous to those with whom you work, that spills over to the public. HR, cafeteria whoever should be providing you with the same service expected of others. You may even call it common courtesy and it should be expected of all.
I had many years of customer service and butter melts when I smile and speak, HOWEVER I know what is right. And all employees and patients are customers of someone! I speak to everyone in the hospital, and everyone is greeted equally and with a friendly tone. That is how humans should behave and unfortunately too often do not!
The ICU where I work, our visiting hours are 12-7, no exceptions. Two visitors at a time, no exceptions. There is a very small waiting room, and only two visitors allowed in the waiting area at a time. No coffee, not even water is provided. I think this is horrible. I agree that family at the BS 24/7 can actually be intrusive, and overly stimulating, but they should at least have a place to sit if they need. I guess I just get crazy about stuff like that. That is good customer service. I understand the reasons, but still.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
wow! any one who has ever had a really sick family member in the hospital will feel differently. yes, pts families can be a pita, but you know what? they are scared! they need a little tlc. i must say that i have been really lucky about the way i have been treated when visiting. luckily, i didn't have some of these posters as my family members nurse. as the visitor, i just want to make sure that my lived one is being well taken care of. i believe that the pts overall state of health should be considered when allowing visitors. also, their culture. some cultures, the daughter will not leave the side of the sick bed. that is their choice. the stress of being in the hospital can affect healing. if having a family member present helps alleviate some of this stress than good!
i don't think we should allow 10 people in the room at a time of course, and i limit them to 2...for the sake of other pts, and to allow me to get my work done.
i also let the of in during a code if they want. it helps them see that we are doing everything we can. it helps them change the code status if need be, and helps them move on. of course they need to stay out of the way, and not be hysterical etc.
i guess my point is, i treat families and pts the way i would expect to be treated. i think other attitudes give nurses a bad rep! oh, and if my son was in the hospital, there is no way i'd leave his bed side! i wouldn't take my son somewhere that had a policy that didn't allow it!
as someone who has quite recently had a seriously ill family member in the hospital, and as someone who has been in the hospital relatively recently, i don't appreciate you speaking for me. i'm still a big fan of visiting hours for a number of reasons. you list or as one of your specialties, and i'm sure that intrusive family members aren't a problem for you there the way they have been for me in the er, the cticu, the micu and the neuro floor.
as a nurse in the cticu of a large, inner city teaching hospital i can vouch for the fact that not all (or even most) families are supportive of the patient, appreciative of the staff or respectful of the physician. perhaps it's different in rural or suburban hospitals, or even in large teaching hospitals that serve an upscale population. but i digress. families seem to have learned how to behave when visiting a loved one in the hospital from popular shows such as "er," "grey's anatomy" or "scrubs". even daytime dramas like "general hospital" show beloved, familiar characters behaving like flaming rectal orafices when their loved ones are hospitalized -- and people these days seem to believe that's how they're supposed to behave. the louder and more obnoxious they behave, the more they're demonstrating their love for their hospitalized family member. after all -- if that's the way they do it on tv, that must be how it's done! never mind that "gh," "er," and "ga" are dramas.
as the daughter of a seriously ill parent, i was grateful for the visiting hours that gave me permission to drag my mother from dad's bedside, make sure she got something to eat and put her to bed. i was grateful for the chance to eat and sleep myself. perhaps my situation is extreme because mom has alzheimer's and i didn't dare leave her at dad's bedside alone. but even a decade ago, before alzheimer's, i was grateful for visiting hours. dad needed his rest and the constant stream of well-wishers and lookie loos who seemed to require entertaining were draining on all of us. i was truly grateful that visitors other than immediate family were forbidden in the icu. dad didn't need to see a brother-in-law he detested and mom and i didn't need to entertain uncle paul.
as a patient, i valued the end of visiting hours because it meant my roommate's loud, smelly, obnoxious family and all of their various greasy and odiferous foods were supposed to leave. (not that it always worked that way, but i had hope!) i had the raging headache and nausea of a csf leak, and roomie's visitors just made it excrutiating. they carried on loud conversations with each other and argued on the cell phone. i didn't appreciate the family appropriating all the chairs, walking past my bed and staring at me as they used the patient bathroom, hogging the remote control and dialing up the volume on their jerry-springer-like shows and sports (both of which i detest) or eating in the room when i was nauseated, or later when the nausea passed and i was npo. those people may have "allieviated the stress of hospitalization" for my roommate (although i doubt it) but they certainly increased my stress and discomfort.
please do not assume that nurses who have a different opinion than yours are horrible nurses that you wouldn't want taking care of your family member. unless all you're looking for is good customer service.
I also work in a very large, very busy inner city CTICU. I agree that rules about visiting hours are necessary in some cases... Unruly, loud etc should be asked to step out...we also get drunk or high family members, and yes, gang members. I am not talking about those types of extremes. I am talking more about a very critical pt, and where I work, they aren't even allowed to stay in the waiting room. I personally would not want my loved one somewhere that doesn't allow me to stay close by.
Obviously nursing judgement comes into play. If the pt is in need of rest etc, I send them away, if some type of invasive procedure needs to be done, I ask them to leave...or if the pt is stable, I don't think they should stay the night... But management takes the decision out of nurses hands by enforcing strict hours, with no exceptions.
I think customer service is a very important part of our jobs. I recently had a baby and was treated horribly. It was where I worked too. I wil not be going back there for my second, and I made sure all my pregnant friends knew not to go there.
We have coffee and vending machines in the waiting room, therefore I'm not giving water or coffee or juice to any family member. Family members are not allowed to eat or drink in the patient rooms. I've had too many family members try to give oral fluids to my intubated patient. I love visiting hours. Sorry, but they are there for a reason, so the patient can rest. I wouldn't want my family constantly pestering me while I have a tube in my throat and various other areas of my body. I sure do not appreciate when family members constantly stimulate my intubated patients to the point where they need more sedation which I have experienced many times. I'm all for customer service but my ultimate customer is my patient and if the family needs to leave, they will be told so. I also have no problem calling security when visitors get out of line.
Specializes in Home Care, Primary care NP, QI, Nsg Adm.
I posted in the early days of this thread, but since its taken a life of its own, I'll post again. Actually, I am a bit surprised at some of the "it's this way or that way" attitudes with this subject. Why is good care and customer service opposites in the mind of some nurses?
Remove the anti-management feelings that some have and understand that giving nursing care is not a singular function nor does it occur within a vacuum. Good care encompasses good customer service because what we do is give service. The provision of nursing and medical care is a service, which at times all of us are and will be customers of. So what is the problem with good customer service that not only pleases the 'customer' but makes them want to return for services in the future or refer others. Which can be critical in some health care markets.
Of course, we do not tend to our clients with a neat, starched linen towel over our forearm while intelligent care would determine the extent to which patients and visitors can turn patient care areas into hotels or resorts.
If a facility and its management believe the word 'Hilton' is attached to medical center than expect 'gold coast' treatment and if anyone is not cut out to provide that level of service then it would be best to seek employment in an environment that is more suitable to ones personality and style with patients.
I suppose customer service may be very easy to give and depends on what part of nursing you are coming from. If as a NP, case manager, manager or any other position in which no assignment with a million tasks and more to complete in addition to the towel over the arm treatment is required then of course as someone without a need to give pain meds, change a patient or whatever else....my view would be of course everyone deserves the "hilton" level service. However as a nurse in the "real world" who is receiving unstable, unknown patients in a steady stream I have to say....the glass of water, warm blanket and pillow WILL WAIT. If the manager, case manager, doctor, NP or anyone else has a problem with that they can get it! Safety is job #1 in the ER and should be everywhere else. The extras are nice, and we may be able to provide them but they are not the focus.....as nurses are asked to take on higher acuity patients and huge assignments; we should not have to fear for our jobs due to unrealistic expectations of "Hilton" service. If administration is so concerned set up a concierge desk or staff to take care of these needs!
After the day I just put in....I can't stand this thread! Yet, all my patients were fed, cleaned and medicated before I left. Hmmmm pain free, full stomach and clean.....sounds like heaven.
After the day I just put in....I can't stand this thread! Yet, all my patients were fed, cleaned and medicated before I left. Hmmmm pain free, full stomach and clean.....sounds like heaven.
M
Yep. If only the nurses were able to attain the same level of existence (pain free, full stomach and clean)....
Might I add...able to go pee at least once or twice a shift...
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MAISY, RN-ER, BSN, RN
1,082 Posts
You know, I am all for good customer service but as I have told all who want to bend over for EVERYTHING....even DISNEY kicks people out of the park for not following the rules.
There are reasons people may or may not do certain things, this is especially true in healthcare.
Education must begin when the patient walks through the door, this should include expectations of behavior and rest time. Don't allow it to get out of hand before it does! Right now in the ER if it is a slow morning and I have a whole bunch of people I will greet them, but also advise them that the rule of 2 per patient WILL BE ENFORCED AS THE ER GETS CROWDED. No surprises, no nastiness....it was expected. I have never had a problem when the ground rules have been laid down. Then again, I have alot of other experiences other than nursing.
You can have good customer service WITH RULES! Administrations just have not recognized this yet. Customer service has many tiers, and employees are the internal customer.
M