NurseMan!

I try to take a different perspective on this. That is, we are providing care to these people because we are, after all, in the healthCARE industry. Just because most of the people to whom we are providing this care are disgruntled, impossible to satisfy and sometimes down right mean, doesn't mean we should treat them like objects. In fact, I think it is the exact opposite. Think about it, why are these people at our hospital??? Because they or their loved ones are sick, injured, and many times on the verge of death. Do you think maybe that has something to do with why they are a little bit irritable and have somewhat higher than normal demands? Think about a time when you went to a restauarant (another service/hospitality industry) and had an awesome experience vs. a time when you had a horrible experience. I'm sure most of that great experience had to do with not only how correct your waiter got the order (skill), but how well the waiter treated you and your family while you were there (compassion/care). On the flip side, I'm sure that most of the horrible experience had to do with how poorly the waiter treated you while you were there (lack of compassion/care) and maybe none or only a small part of the problem was how they got your order wrong or how much water they spilled on your lap. It's amazing how much better someone can feel (read heal) when they are actually cared for by caregivers and not just serviced by a 'mechanic'. As a side note, unmanagable requests are usually indicators that something is seriously wrong with a patient or their family member. Maybe instead of crying about how stressful your life is (remember, at least you have a steady income, food to eat and a roof over your head), you should try sitting with them for a second to see what is really going on so that maybe, just maybe, you as a care provider can suck up your pride do something to help. Finally, while 8-10 surveys is not what I would call valid and reliable data (once you get to 30 then it's hard to deny), you still are looking at the perception of 8-10 people about how well they were treated at your hospital, in your care. If I received a bad review, even if it was just 1 person's opinion, I would still take that into consideration and do whatever I could to improve. No only because that 1 person's needs kept me employed for those few hours, but because I'm a nurse and I care. Just my 2 cents.