Press Ganey Surveys

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · May 28, 2016

My personal experience was that the overwhelming majority of patients even bother to remember my name. Most of the negative Press-Ganey comments from patients and families were general:

- "Too many (Filipino/black/African/etc.) nurses..."

- "My discharge nurse couldn't speak English..." (not true, BTW)

- "The night shift nurses were insolent..."

- "One nurse had to stick me twice to draw my blood..."

- "Nurses were always late passing my medication..."

Overall, I would estimate that less than 20 percent of all Press-Ganey comments mentioned the names of specific staff members.

ArtClassRN, ADN, RN · May 28, 2016

Surveys are merely tools. Companies can use them in many, many ways. A good company can use them to improve conditions for patients and staff. A bad company can use them to burn individual nurses.

Depends on the type of company you work for.

RiskManager · May 28, 2016

Bearing in mind that the patients don't get the surveys for a while after discharge, they rarely remember specific names of the nursing staff. I find it interesting that patients often do a better job of remembering and specifically mentioning physician names in the surveys. I can tell you that at the Administration level, we do go over the results with a fine-tooth comb and spend lots of time discussing them.

Susie2310 · May 28, 2016

Bearing in mind that the patients don't get the surveys for a while after discharge, they rarely remember specific names of the nursing staff. I find it interesting that patients often do a better job of remembering and specifically mentioning physician names in the surveys. I can tell you that at the Administration level, we do go over the results with a fine-tooth comb and spend lots of time discussing them.

The reason could be that the physicians are known by their last names i.e. Dr. Smith, and have their first and last names printed on their name badges with their name badges visible when they interact with patients, and tell patients their name: "I'm Dr. Smith" at the beginning of the patient interaction when they first meet the patient. Contrast that to the nurses who in my experience have name badges with just their first name printed in bold type and whose name badges are often flipped backwards when they enter the patient's room so that the patient/family cannot see their name even if they would like to.

Nurses usually introduce themselves to patients as: "I'm Susie and I'll be your nurse tonight", but some nurses have provided care to my family members without even introducing themselves. In my experience with the nurses who have taken care of my family members, a number of nurses seem to not wish the patients to easily see their name badge, and even if patients do see the name "Susie" and the nurse tells them their name is "Susie", without a last name how meaningful is just writing a first name on a survey? I suggest asking patients if they could see the nurses' name badges and see for yourself if the nurse's last name is visible on their badge. You could also try asking the patients if the nurses told them their names and note whether only a first name was given. I think you will find your answer.

Anonymous865 · May 28, 2016

Bearing in mind that the patients don't get the surveys for a while after discharge, they rarely remember specific names of the nursing staff. I find it interesting that patients often do a better job of remembering and specifically mentioning physician names in the surveys. I can tell you that at the Administration level, we do go over the results with a fine-tooth comb and spend lots of time discussing them.

It is interesting to know that the administration level does look at the survey results.

Do you think they use the surveys to make meaningful improvements or is it more superficial?

Do they ask just the questions required by CMS, or do they add their own questions to the survey?

Do they get a large percentage of people responding to the survey?

Regarding remembering nurse or physician names - I think that is a reflection of who the patient has the most face time with.

When I was a patient, I saw the physician pre-op in his office, every day in the hospital, and follow-up appts in his office. I had a different nurse every shift in the hospital. I only saw my nurse when she passed meds or hung IVs. CNAs did vitals. Lab did blood draws. A tech did an EKG. The day after discharge I couldn't have told you the name of anyone. The only consistent face was the physician.

On the other hand, when my mother was hospitalized, She had the same nurse the first 4 nights. They did a great job of assigning the same few nurses to her almost every shift. They did not have CNAs, so she saw the nurse frequently. The physicians changed every few days. Six months later I can still tell you the names of many of the nurses she had. I only remember the name of 1 provider and only because he was such a jerk.

brillohead, ADN, RN · May 28, 2016

The reason could be that the physicians are known by their last names i.e. Dr. Smith, and have their first and last names printed on their name badges with their name badges visible when they interact with patients, and tell patients their name: "I'm Dr. Smith" at the beginning of the patient interaction when they first meet the patient. Contrast that to the nurses who in my experience have name badges with just their first name printed in bold type and whose name badges are often flipped backwards when they enter the patient's room so that the patient/family cannot see their name even if they would like to.
Nurses usually introduce themselves to patients as: "I'm Susie and I'll be your nurse tonight", but some nurses have provided care to my family members without even introducing themselves. In my experience with the nurses who have taken care of my family members, a number of nurses seem to not wish the patients to easily see their name badge, and even if patients do see the name "Susie" and the nurse tells them their name is "Susie", without a last name how meaningful is just writing a first name on a survey? I suggest asking patients if they could see the nurses' name badges and see for yourself if the nurse's last name is visible on their badge. You could also try asking the patients if the nurses told them their names and note whether only a first name was given. I think you will find your answer.

I'm not sure if that's how you intended this to come off, but your post almost makes it sound like you're accusing nurses of not wanting the patients to know who they are.

My hospital only has first name and last initial on our badges, so it's not like I'm intentionally trying to hide who I am. That's just the standard for the whole hospital -- housekeeping, aides, respiratory therapists, phebotomists, radiology techs, nurses, etc., all just have first name and last initial.

If my badge is flipped backwards, it's not intentional in the least. I have to pull my badge out on its retractable leash multiple times per hour to get into the Pyxis, to scan for the glucometer, to unlock the supply cabinets in each patient room every time I need a med cup, syringe, saline flush, 4x4, tape, line cap, bandaid, etc. I try to make sure it's always facing forward, and I correct it if I happen to see that it's flipped backwards. I wish they'd assign us a second badge so I could have one facing each direction, but they won't do that.

We also have whiteboards in each room where we list the name of the RN and the Aide for each shift.

We also do bedside handoff at each shift change, where we introduce the next nurse coming on directly to the patient.

We also don't have very many duplicate names on our unit -- I can only think of one off the top of my head, and even then they are spelled differently. So even if you don't know the last name or last initial of the nurse, the chances are good that knowing just the first name will be plenty.