Pt.s threatening bad feedback on customer service surveys

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

i can honestly care less if a patient wants to complain. do not worry about what a patient writes on a customer satisfaction survey unless you are management!!! try your best to deliver great patient care then let it go! if a patient threatens me, i take the threat to my charge nurse unless i am able to de-escalate the situation myself. remember you are only human and not a miracle worker! on the other hand if i have patients who say nothing but good things about me and my care, i am sure to repeat my name before they exit the er and remind them about the survey. this seems to severely off-set the one or two complaints i get a month. gl!

allnurses Guide · Jul 16, 2010

Honestly, if we start to let the thought of what someone may write on a customer service survey influence our judgement in any way, something bad may eventually happen. I think the best I can do is prioritize my tasks, try to be as courteous as possible, and go the extra mile if I have the time to do it. If I know I should take care of "A" first, but "B" is loud and threatening, I should still take care of "A" and let the chips fall where they may. I have to be able to sleep at night. The rest isn't up to me.

ChristineN, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

I wouldn't worry about that pt's complaint. I have so much better things to do at work than to worry about a pt that is just going to constantly complain. Same way I don't take it personally when a pt wants to sign out AMA.

casi, ASN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

I've told patients "Well you need to do what you feel is necissary." There's no reasoning with this guy and maybe if people complain enough about us not having supplies on the floor management will think about stocking us.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

I don't sweat it. They only threaten you with it if they think you care one way or another.

carolmaccas66, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

So, tonight the patient of another nurse requested a pair of pajama pant because although he was told not to wear underwear to Cath. Lab, he did & they cut them off. He's a bigger guy and the only size pants we had was a large, but not large enough for him. While his hurse was off the floor picking up a transfer he starts making a stink about how's he's paying $1800.00 to be have this procedure and we don't even have a pair of pants to fit him! I checked every other unit on our floor & there weren't any. He then goes on to threaten that we just better wait till he gets that cutomer satifaction survey! Over a pair of pajama pants!
This is getting ridiculous. 1st-Not even my patient, 2nd-Now patients are threatening us with bad surveys!
This guys is a diabetic with a blood sugar of 194 tonight who just had a sheath placed & he's been drinking coffee and juice and eating snacks all night. Why do we even both if we are just gonna let them run all over us anyway.
I'm so disheartened by the reality of nursing.

I disagree about not worrying re the cust service quest. Management take them very, very seriously now. I had a concern (not a complaint) made about me by 'management' who accused me of doing something I did not. And the patient I had was a complete PITA; they gave him to me (agency) cos no-one would look after him (didn't know this till later). I tried to mollify him & gave him extra time, etc but no that wasn't good enough for him or the hospital. Told the shift coord that he wasn't happy with ANYTHING I did but she didn't move me. Now this hospital says they don't want me back. When I first heard re this, I said I refused to go back anyway. Bugger 'em. I have an interview for a new nursing job on Monday so they can jump. I KNOW I am a good, caring nurse & if they don't want me giving extra attention (all my duties were done) they can get stuffed - I'm not wasting my time with them.

So if complaints are made, just make sure you write everything down that happened - times, dates, actions taken, and RECORD everything you did (I know it's time consuming but worth it). Otherwise the lawyers will have a FIELD day with you. A work mate of mine who was a 2nd year nursing student had a friend who was a RN. I can't remember exactly what happened, but this RN was accused of not doing something on a shift, & had to go to answer to the nurses' board. Well they grilled her with a lawyer to prepare her for court (if it went to court). This RN was quite a hard person & was experienced in her job. But she told my work colleague that she came out of that session balling her eyes out. The lawyer did NOT take her side at all. When asked why she made this supposed mistake, she was outlining her day saying it was unbelievably busy etc, the lawyer cut her off apparently and replied: "So? What different does being busy make? Are you saying you are a bad nurse?" I shuddered when he told me this - now, I write every little thing on a shift I think may come back & bite me on the bum. People really want to sue nurses & doctors more now - they want to make a quick buck, or they have to take their anger out on SOMEONE. And it has nothing to do with making us accountable; it's to do with revenge & the negative press hospitals & health care gets - but the public can't see it is not always our fault. Work is too busy, with too little resources, staff are ++ stressed, have had no/little sleep & have to tolerate way too much abuse (in any shape or form). But apparently, all that doesn't count anymore & you can't use it as an excuse/explanation!

SandraCVRN · Jul 16, 2010

I'm in the OR and routinly take underwear off pts that were supposed to have it off before coming to the OR. Yes, it's annoying and a PITA but come on, the folks in the cath lab couldn't take this guys underwear off and put it in a bag.....PLEASE...

I know we shouldn't have to do all this junk a pt should be able to do for themselves but we do. I'll bet when the cath lab was cutting them off they were gripping about ya'll not doing your job, heaven forbid we help each other out.

Again, I do this on a routine basis, no it's not fun taking the underwear off a large person but unless it's an emergeny I'm not cutting anything off anyone.

Sorry if this sounds rambling, I'm still asleep:zzzzz

anonymurse · Jul 16, 2010

Shoot, a pt's demand the other night amounted to him threatening to hold his breath if he didn't get his way. Except for him, I'd never heard that from anyone older than three!

anonymurse · Jul 16, 2010

The demand for custom PJs is the same as a demand I received one night to go get the pt a double whopper at 0300 (of course against dietary orders). I simply said "I wish I could help you, but I can't leave or I'd lose my nursing license." So you could have told him there wasn't any such in the hospital, and you'd be glad to get them, but you couldn't abandon your pts or you'd lose your nursing license. These manipulators are fishing, and if they don't get a strike, they'll throw the hook into another part of the pool. Keep it short and sweet and you'll be forgotten in less than a minute.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

I don't sweat it. They only threaten you with it if they think you care one way or another.

Tell me about it. I'll occasionally get patients who threaten to go AMA but back down when I say, "if that's what you really want, sure, I'll call the doctor while you pack." Psych nursing helps you develop a tough skin about these things :)

eriksoln, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2010

Tell me about it. I'll occasionally get patients who threaten to go AMA but back down when I say, "if that's what you really want, sure, I'll call the doctor while you pack." Psych nursing helps you develop a tough skin about these things :)

The thing too is, its kinda like Pavlov and the Doggy. They get conditioned by whomever that all they have to do is mention those surveys and the world is going to stop on its axis. I don't give this impression, so its a heresay threat made towards me. This makes them look for other ways to get what they want. When "other way" equals asking politely, I bend over backwards to accommodate them.

What is the worst that can happen? They fire me. Oh gee...........jobs are scarce and all but nursing isn't all that, its not worth getting a bleeding ulcer over.