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?
"Takla Syndrome." .........."Early in my career, business took me to a pulp and paper mill in Takla, a small community in the interior of British Columbia........."As we approached, I was hit by a distinct and overwhelming odor, which I subsequently discovered was sulfur. As discreetly as I could, I asked my client, a longtime resident, how people put up with the smell. His response. "Smell? What smell?"
"He was quite serious. After a while, people who lived in Takla simply became inured to the smell -- they didn't notice it anymore. In fact, for them, it didn't exist.
"And that, I believe, is what's happening when we encounter those nonresponsive employees. Often, they've lived with the smell of poor customer service for so long that they don't notice it anymore." (page. 115).
Well, I certainly hope those who live in houses in the southeastern parts of the USA, built with Chinese drywall that exudes a sulphuric odor, can put up with it until something can be done to remove it. However, many builders who built homes with it are bankrupt, the news item I read about it, stated. Only now, having endured a few hot, humid summers, has the smell and the fact that sulphuric acid that was made, eats metal wires, screws, etc. become evident.
Keeping in topic, negative health effects are feared, and certainly customer service has been severely damaged. That Chinese product has been imported since 2006, so the one year's insurance plans with which many realtors gift their clients have lapsed. The present owners have a conundrum of expenses that they can't meet, and rebuilding those houses seems to be the only solution. One person found that it was $1,000 cheaper than domestic products, when building his own house...... Those builders had no idea what could result from using it, yet they have been repeatedly punished in the courts for using it.
That somewhat reinforces my earlier post that stated that maintaining a warm, understanding affect with patients and their families, and fulfilling their requests nicely (if/when we can) costs us nothing, and goes a long way in supporting them, which is only kind and avoids discontent. We know full well what the results of poor "customer service" can be - patients' suffer fear, insecurity, possibly longer/poor healing, and for the hospital, damages that might be proved in court present expensive lawsuits, hence job cuts.
"Takla Syndrome." .........."Early in my career, business took me to a pulp and paper mill in Takla, a small community in the interior of British Columbia........."As we approached, I was hit by a distinct and overwhelming odor, which I subsequently discovered was sulfur. As discreetly as I could, I asked my client, a longtime resident, how people put up with the smell. His response. "Smell? What smell?"
"He was quite serious. After a while, people who lived in Takla simply became inured to the smell -- they didn't notice it anymore. In fact, for them, it didn't exist.
"And that, I believe, is what's happening when we encounter those nonresponsive employees. Often, they've lived with the smell of poor customer service for so long that they don't notice it anymore." (page. 115).
Well, I certainly hope those who live in houses in the southeastern parts of the USA, built with Chinese drywall that exudes a sulphuric odor, can put up with it until something can be done to remove it. However, many builders who built homes with it are bankrupt, the news item I read about it, stated. Only now, having endured a few hot, humid summers, has the smell and the fact that sulphuric acid that was made, eats metal wires, screws, etc. become evident.
Keeping in topic, negative health effects are feared, and certainly customer service has been severely damaged. That Chinese product has been imported since 2006, so the one year's insurance plans with which many realtors gift their clients have lapsed. The present owners have a conundrum of expenses that they can't meet, and rebuilding those houses seems to be the only solution. One person found that it was $1,000 cheaper than domestic products, when building his own house...... Those builders had no idea what could result from using it, yet they have been repeatedly punished in the courts for using it, when the American drywall had been back ordered for some time.
That somewhat reinforces my earlier post that stated that maintaining a warm, understanding affect with patients and their families, and fulfilling their requests nicely (if/when we can) costs us nothing, and goes a long way in supporting them, which is only kind and avoids discontent. We know full well what the results of poor "customer service" can be - patients' suffer fear, insecurity, possibly longer/poor healing, and for the hospital, damages that might be proved in court present expensive lawsuits, hence job cuts.
Specializes in Home Care, Primary care NP, QI, Nsg Adm.
"That somewhat reinforces my earlier post that stated that maintaining a warm, understanding affect with patients and their families, and fulfilling their requests nicely (if/when we can) costs us nothing, and goes a long way in supporting them, which is only kind and avoids discontent."
Well said. For me it is about an individuals character and personality. It "costs us nothing" but more often than not, gives us back much more in how we feel inside.
"That somewhat reinforces my earlier post that stated that maintaining a warm, understanding affect with patients and their families, and fulfilling their requests nicely (if/when we can) costs us nothing, and goes a long way in supporting them, which is only kind and avoids discontent."
Well said. For me it is about an individuals character and personality. It "costs us nothing" but more often than not, gives us back much more in how we feel inside.
THIS IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?
I think that was my quote above, Saifudin, and wow! have I ever had a chance to be on the other end of it!
I was hospitalized Tues., Apr. 21, and just got home today. I brought all my meds with me in the ambulance, so the admitting nurse could list them. None of them were available in the hospital's formulary! The nurse told me to take the alternatives that were available, and I said I'd tried them before, and they didn't work for me (nicely). I asked if I could take my own meds, which I'd taken for 20 years successfully, with a doctor's order and she said I'd have to take theirs, as the pharmacy was closed, and my med would have to be identified by a pharmacist. We were head - head, and she became bullying, telling me she knew I'm a nurse and I should know better than to contradict the doctor's orders. Then she said that what I was trying to do would make her lose her license.
I asked to see the doctor (a hospitalist). 4 hours later the quite young hospitalist came and repeated what the nurse had said, and I again asked, since I had them, why I couldn't take my own. The nurse interjected (with some hostility) that since it was now 4 in the morning, that would mean that I'd be taking 2 in one day, so I couldn't have either medication now! I was NPO, and no water was in the room to take the med, but as soon as they left, I did, using my hand as a cup. Since I was scared and quite ill, I was crying at that point.
My pain became worse, and I wanted to take tylenol and codeine, but they insisted on giving me IV morphine (probably to knock me out and stop my resistence). I said "that's like taking a sledge hammer to a tack". They said that the tablet would start my GI bleeding up again (Gee, I didn't know it had stopped....), yet I'd been given other oral meds before that. The hospitalist came back and told me "It's only 1mgm of morphine, a very small dose". I didn't have the strength to resist, and they gave it, zonking me for almost 24 hours, during which I felt like a zombie as blood tests were done every 4 hours, and transfusions dripped into my one available vein. Oh, I was cooperative! Yet any trust that might have been, was impossible now.
The coup de gras came the next day, my GI doc visited, and said that he'd ordered a nuclear bleeding scan to see where the bleeding was happening. Then the hospitalist of the day arrived and said that wasn't useful now, since my bleeding had stopped! (Meanwhile I'd gone into the nurses' station and read my chart, seeing that the H&Hs were steadily going fractionally down.) Then the GI doc came back to say he'd decided that I should ask for the test the next time it happened. I couldn't wait to get out of there!
There is no other hospital in this place! All the doctors practising here went to the same medical school! (Really!) So I'm getting out of "dodge" to California, unless it happens again soon, in which case I'll try to get to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore any way I can. I'm not asking for medical advice here, but commenting on some very poor medical and customer service. It emphasizes my point that warmth, understanding and caring would have gone a long way. That hospital has many services that imply a desire to provide good customer service, among them "concierge room service for meals", a stunning 4 story fountain in the lobby, and very adequate staffing.
Specializes in med-surg, psych, ER, school nurse-CRNP.
Jesus Lord, Lois, I'm sorry! I've had a bleed too (at age 27) and I know that they are NOT fun, but what you described was a nightmare. I believe I'd have just refused their "alternatives" and taken my own meds, since they obviously were not withholding the hospital-approved pills. I never, never condone a patient taking meds from their purse or what-have-you, but this circumstance called for it, especially if they were not willing to get what you needed.
In my case, I was refused a transfer to a hospital that was staffed with my PCP, held against my will with promises of "If you'll just do this, you can go home. OK, now that you've done that, if you'll just do THIS, you can go home."
I had a transfusion that I really did need, and an EGD that I was not wild about before they hit me with the caveat "Well, you really need to stay another 72 hours, THEN you can go home."
I told them to forget it and bring me the AMA paperwork. I was in Panama City, FL, on my vacation, no less. My husband had left to get home so he could work, and my parents had driven 400 miles to get me. Should I ever have cause to be hospitalized again down there, I will not be a patron of that facility.
I hope you're better, and I hope you write a letter to the chair of that hospital. Get nasty if you have to. Apparently being nice to those dinklepusses it not the way to go. Have a safe trip to CA!
Specializes in Med/surg, pediatrics, gi, gu,stepdown un.
I am sorry to hear about your illness too, Lamazeteacher. I hope you feel better and they figure out what is wrong. I am also sorry to hear ,you as a nurse, had such a bad experience. I feel people do understand their bodies better than we do, since they have lived in them for so many years. The nurse should have let you take your own home meds as they were in properly marked medicine containers with the doctors name on them. I guess she was not familiar with the pills. I guess the hopitalist could not take a look at them either and say it was okay? What a shame and disgrace to this hospital not having, experienced staff to assess the situation further!
lamazeteacher this is exactly what I mean about nurses acting like they are in control. Patients do not want to be controlled anymore. They want to be taken care of, yet they want a say in their care. This attitude of you are on their turf now and they make the rules simply cannot fly with today's consumer. Why couldn't the dang Dr. write an order saying may take own home meds per patient request? I can sort of see the rationale about the TWC though, that stuff is hard on the GI tract. Still, by then they had you so stressed out that all you felt was their efforts to control you and take away all of your dignity. So many facilities are this way. And they wonder why patients are angry and ready to sue at the drop of a hat.
Always give patients as much choice as you can. If you can't meet their needs explain why, telll them you are sorry but what you can offer is ___. People are reasonable. They will appreciate your efforts. Your work life will be better if you adopt this attitude.
If education does not work I read the Pt their horoscope, "If I let you eat/drink that beore your surgery you will likely die like a rockstar.(drown in your vomit) and if the drowning doesn't kill you, it will weaken you enough that the infection will have a good chance." If that doesn't work I, get the MO to explain it in nicer terms.
Spinal Tap's second drummer choked on vomit (the whole theater goes "ewwww!") but it was actually someone else's (the whole theater goes "EEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!") vomit that he choked on. But they were never able to determine exactly whose vomit it was, because Scotland Yard didn't have the facilities to - "It's not like fingerprints. You don't, uh, dust for vomit."
I was hospitalized Tues., Apr. 21, and just got home today. I brought all my meds with me in the ambulance, so the admitting nurse could list them. None of them were available in the hospital's formulary! The nurse told me to take the alternatives that were available, and I said I'd tried them before, and they didn't work for me (nicely). I asked if I could take my own meds, which I'd taken for 20 years successfully, with a doctor's order and she said I'd have to take theirs, as the pharmacy was closed, and my med would have to be identified by a pharmacist. We were head - head, and she became bullying, telling me she knew I'm a nurse and I should know better than to contradict the doctor's orders. Then she said that what I was trying to do would make her lose her license.
While there was absolutely no excuse for her to argue with you or be rude, she may have been put in this position by a ridiculous home med policy like the one my hospital has. While it is possible to obtain a doctor's order for you to take your own home meds, they have to be sent to pharmacy and "identity confirmed" by pharmacy staff. This typically takes about 4 hours. If the pharmacy is closed, no one else--not a doctor, not a nurse, not a supervisor--can ID the meds and therefore they cannot be given. This policy applies even to meds that come in in their original prescription bottles. I have had patients get very angry with me, and while I agree with them, my hospital policy forces me to follow this rule. (I have to admit there has been a time or two when I cheated and allowed a patient to have a med that I deemed was going to be essential to their health and welfare, but you can bet I would have been called on the carpet if anyone ever found out.)
A hospital I worked in had the same policy, and I worked in the ED where the meds we had access to were fairly limited. If the patients were alert I'd explain the policy and say I wouldn't stop them from taking their own meds, I'd just chart they did it. There wasn't a nurse or doc in the department that followed the policy as written.
lamazeteacher
2,170 Posts
Well, I certainly hope those who live in houses in the southeastern parts of the USA, built with Chinese drywall that exudes a sulphuric odor, can put up with it until something can be done to remove it. However, many builders who built homes with it are bankrupt, the news item I read about it, stated. Only now, having endured a few hot, humid summers, has the smell and the fact that sulphuric acid that was made, eats metal wires, screws, etc. become evident.
Keeping in topic, negative health effects are feared, and certainly customer service has been severely damaged. That Chinese product has been imported since 2006, so the one year's insurance plans with which many realtors gift their clients have lapsed. The present owners have a conundrum of expenses that they can't meet, and rebuilding those houses seems to be the only solution. One person found that it was $1,000 cheaper than domestic products, when building his own house...... Those builders had no idea what could result from using it, yet they have been repeatedly punished in the courts for using it.
That somewhat reinforces my earlier post that stated that maintaining a warm, understanding affect with patients and their families, and fulfilling their requests nicely (if/when we can) costs us nothing, and goes a long way in supporting them, which is only kind and avoids discontent. We know full well what the results of poor "customer service" can be - patients' suffer fear, insecurity, possibly longer/poor healing, and for the hospital, damages that might be proved in court present expensive lawsuits, hence job cuts.