Patient satisfaction..

Nurses General Nursing

Published

My post is to primarily question what constitutes true patient satisfaction with stay. What are some nurses thoughts on this, and do you all see a trend in negative behaviour by residents/families lately?

I'm working in a SNF with better response time to lights/concerns/requests than the local hospital, residents themselves keep pointing this out; yet have seen more negative responses to care by residents/families then anywhere else I've worked so far. (I'm a CNA, by the way.Off and on for 20 years.). I actually dislike going to work sometimes mostly due to the hostility I've seen. I have a nurse who goes all out for the patients and family requests, which burdens us CNA's as well with extra work and yet I've witnessed this nurse be threatened repeatedly by residents/visitors that 'if so and so isn't done NOW, heads will roll' etc's comments similar. I've seen this done over getting a snack or some more water! What gives? My nurse is not a maitre'd and shouldn't be leaned on like this, IMO.

This facility is the highest rated for outcomes. And the residents coming in are aware of the high rating. It's burning my nurses out.

Are people just more rude lately? What do you think?

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

People are *******s. *Most

Satisfaction varies too between person and person. To one person it could be pain meds round the clock. Another it could be a filled mug of ice water refilled all through the day ( that would be me cause I down water all day long ). Some people you just cant please either.

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Sad isn't it when perfectly oriented x 3 patients/ family members (Adults?!) regress to the level of a 2 year old having a tantrum. The majority of the patients where I work are reasonable, cooperative, pleasant and help make my job a satisfying one. Then you get the odd one, that no matter what wants it their way, right now, and no matter what it isn't good enough. I understand the stresses associated with being hospitalized, worry over bad news, guilt from family members, and the patient's right to autonomy but at some point it would be nice if common courtesy kicked in.

It really does only take one bad apple to spoil the bunch. I've gone home burned out at the end of the day sometimes thanks to one person/family. Unreasonable demands, rules are for other people, and I want it my way NOW can be unimaginably draining. I do my best to go the extra mile, spend time talking with patients, answering questions, bringing tea, snacks and warm blankets. I like doing these things for my patients. It's when we are treated as personal slaves that you really feel the compassion fatigue kick in. We tend to pass these patients around when making up the assignment so no one nurse has them for more than one shift. That's all anyone can handle.

Are people more rude now than before? I don't know, but I'm certainly tired of the lack of respect.

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entitled people push a lot of hot buttons. here are 10 things not to say to the entitled person:

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10
"you're best friends with our ceo? join the club. if i had a dollar...."

9
"i don't care if you are the queen of england; you still need to wait your turn."

8
"write your congressman. he can't be as busy as i am."

7
"i believe everyone deserves adequate health care. but you're really pushing it."

6
"it's going to be okay. we'll all laugh about this after you've gotten over yourself."

5
"remember when your mom said you were special? yeah, she lied."

4
"you were billed twice for the same service? if you can afford to make all those donations, you can certainly afford double-billing."

3
"i know you gave the new wing, but there seems to be something wrong with your insurance. you'll have to fill out these forms to verify that you have another method of payment before we proceed."

2
"frank perdue had millions of wings named after him; but he didn't get in without an appointment either!"

1
"i'd kiss your ring, but i have a cold. let's shake hands instead."

susan keane baker
http://www.susanbaker.com

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Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

on this subject, i have one statement to make, "you can't please everyone"

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Specializes in Med Surg, Parish Nurse, Hospice.

I feel that more people have that sense of "entitlement". You owe me because..... Admin also sets up unrealistic goals for staff to achieve. There is no way that all people are going to be pleased with all things all the time, yet nurses are expected to met pt satisfaction goals of 100%. Luckily, where I work, pts don't usually have that sense of entitlment. They are appreciative of the good to great care we provide. Makes everyones job a little easier.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

face it, some of the things we have to do to people are uncomofortable or inconvenient. I do not think patients can truly judge if they are getting quality care. Not all, anyway. However, I do believe the customer should be treated with respect. Too bad they do not always reciprocate

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Anger is one of the stages of grieving and you can do everything perfectly and still you will feel the hostility. Having/putting a loved one in a SNF stirs up all kinds of emotions in people.

As an experienced nurse, I can detect the hostile ones from the first meeting, and realize that they were unhapppy before they ever met me. I will do my best, stand up to outright disrespect, and not take things personally.

Enforced visiting hours once protected nurses from some the families, but not the residents.

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Specializes in M/S, ICU, ICP.

wow, i have so been there and done that. people seem to have this attitude of entitlement and they have raised a generation of kids with the same attitude and then some. ((pity them when they get old. )) i understand satisfaction surveys and happy customers don't sue (as much usually) but i think healthcare staff have not been supported and people taught to treat them with the same respect as any doctor. imo anyway.

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Specializes in retired LTC.

It's welcomed to see that you're concerned about your nurses and maintaining quality within your facility. Satisfaction for pts and family seems to be to be measured by those visible and tangible items that they can be a part of and manipulate themselves. Examples like a cup of half ice& half water, extra creamer for the coffee not the tea that was sent, going to the bathroom NOW (during meal pass) and drsg change at 3 pm. And it's all about me, me, me (or Dad, Dad, Dad). And with a sense of entitlement and immediacy. There's an old Queen song that sings, "I want it all, I want it all and I want it now". To this I would add "and I want only the best because I'm special". That seems to be today's mentality like road rage, going postal and bullying. Throwing your weight around just because you think you can and there won't be any consequences! And they don't consider who the real source of the problem is---just who is nearby to unload on! Isn't this sad!?!? All the behind the scenes stuff we do that just doesn't get seen. Conscientiousness and quality care are our responsibilites, like the nurse who quickly acts on a low potassium level and the cna just who gets an extra fluffy positioning pillow, all done with tact and R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Shame it's not reciprocated by so many as another poster pointed out.

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