I've seen a lot of people talk about 'customer service' in a disparaging manner, as if that is not what nursing is about and it's making their lives harder to provide it.
Could someone explain that more for me?
Personally customer service is another way of saying good bedside manner. It doesn't matter what you know if you cannot present it in a way that encourages others to follow you. Many of the things I hear people complaining about for "customer service", could be solved by patient/family education and a less adversarial relationship between staff and family.
You made a few good points. I especially like the idea of administrators bringing in coffee and donuts to the waiting rooms. I don't understand how writing your name and the date on a dry erase board is causing you to YELL at me however. I think that huge dry erase board someone a couple pages back has to do is a little over the top, maybe too much stuff on it and some stuff that should be kept private. But your name, as the nurse, and the date? Not a huge deal, doesn't take long. I understand the thought of "what's the point" for your "drug induced coma patients", but for the with it ones...its a great little move that takes 5 seconds away from your bedside time.
What about when you d/c two and get two at 5:15 and 38p...and one pt family member faints while his mom is being carted to emergency surgery and your NM says "Everything ok? I'm gone. Do not call me at home. I won't answer." And you get dinged for the last two names?
It is the cynical nature of this set up that is really poisoned.
What about when you d/c two and get two at 5:15 and 38p...and one pt family member faints while his mom is being carted to emergency surgery and your NM says "Everything ok? I'm gone. Do not call me at home. I won't answer." And you get dinged for the last two names?
It is the cynical nature of this set up that is really poisoned.
What do you mean by "you get dinged for the last two names"? I'm totally in agreement that administration at some hospitals goes totally insane with customer service BS, and they care way too much about surveys. Patient surveys, employee surveys, call backs, etc, etc. Too much money on unimportant things. But I also don't think its a huge deal, if your patient can read (or their SO in the room can), you write your name up on board so they can remember it. If you are walking into their room, they are with it, stable, not trying to harm themselves or you (or their visitors), it doesn't take any time away from what you would be doing anyway. That's my whole arguement...that's it. I've had bad days, or nights I should say, had one the last time I worked as a matter of fact, where I didn't get to eat anything but a piece of cake, barely got to drink or go to the bathroom. Names didn't get written on boards that night! But in general, the majority of the time, I think its a good practice and makes the patients feel a little better. And if you take good care of them, then they have your name to say good things about you:)
Our mgmt told us to write the score for the previous nurse's shift on the dry erase boards. We were supposed to ask the patient, "How would you rate your care last night (or today)"? Talk about setting up shift rivalry. :trout:
We need camaraderie.
Thankfully no one is doing it so I hope we have seen its demise.
What do you mean by "you get dinged for the last two names"? I'm totally in agreement that administration at some hospitals goes totally insane with customer service BS, and they care way too much about surveys. Patient surveys, employee surveys, call backs, etc, etc. Too much money on unimportant things. But I also don't think its a huge deal, if your patient can read (or their SO in the room can), you write your name up on board so they can remember it. If you are walking into their room, they are with it, stable, not trying to harm themselves or you (or their visitors), it doesn't take any time away from what you would be doing anyway. That's my whole arguement...that's it. I've had bad days, or nights I should say, had one the last time I worked as a matter of fact, where I didn't get to eat anything but a piece of cake, barely got to drink or go to the bathroom. Names didn't get written on boards that night! But in general, the majority of the time, I think its a good practice and makes the patients feel a little better. And if you take good care of them, then they have your name to say good things about you:)
I've learned to shamelessly write it right after you do something nice. Works everytime.
Our mgmt told us to write the score for the previous nurse's shift on the dry erase boards. We were supposed to ask the patient, "How would you rate your care last night (or today)"? Talk about setting up shift rivalry. :trout:
We need camaraderie.
Thankfully no one is doing it so I hope we have seen its demise.
I've learned to shamelessly write it right after you do something nice. Works everytime.
Hehe, I write it when I walk in the room and introduce myself at the beginning of the shift, then after telling them what we'll be doing for the shift, I rave about how cute the kid is, then "And once again, my name is wooh and I'll be here until 7!" as I point to the board.
I refuse to use the dry erase boards at my current facility, and I don't think I saw them in the ICU that I will be starting in soon. Seriously, I introduce myself and I am personable and friendly as well as professional. I will put my name on it if the patient really wants me to, in which case I tell 'em that hey, it's normally dark at night, so I didn't figure they were looking at the board. I check on them enough that they should feel cared for and know that I am available... believe me my patients know how to mash that button for the call light.
The only thing I use the boards for is, if family or other nurses are trying to help me by writing output on it, I'll pay attention to it. If patients on fluid restrictions want to know what they've had and can have for the shift, and they like the board to keep up with it, I'll do that for them. But there has to be some practical use, I don't just use the thing to practice writing my name. It would not make me any friendlier if I did, those who want to write me thank you notes have no trouble remembering who I am.
After one crazy year where I felt like I learned nothing but was harassed aplenty, I interviewed last week for a job and was asked nothing but CUSTOMER SERVICE questions. Oh my goodness. I was so ill prepared. After the fifth question I could not fake it anymore. Needless to say, I was told that I would not be given a second interview.
It must be a regional thing. I've been a tech for 18 months now and I talk a lot with my nurses, including several new hires. No one has ever mentioned anything like that, not in interview or on the floor. We do have an emphasis on keeping the patient's happy, of course, but not to such a degree we are complaining about policies to that effect.
We also have boards in the rooms, but they are plexiglass and the markers keep dissappearing. When there is a marker available, I'll stick my name and the nurse's up there and the nurse will usually thank me for it. The patients seem to like it, too, and the use of names seems to foster a friendlier atmosphere.
I guess just hadn't realized how good I have it. Or else this thread just represents a very atypical cross-selection of nurses! At least I am learning about the market and I think everyone for that!
Many people equate stating facts with being "rude", notwithstanding if you sugar coat it and put a stick in it. Management knows this but they don't care because they are being led around by the Press-Ganey nosering because all the "cool kids" are doing it. I swear, it's like a bully on the playground.
On the diabetic diet comment above, this is exactly what I was talking about in another thread. And largely, responses there stated that patients have the right to eat whatever they want and whenever they wanted it.
The fact is, if you want GOOD NURSING CARE, you can't have it both ways. Press-Ganey doesn't rate the efficacy of nursing care, it's just another Madison Avenue red herring.
The issue with Press-Ganey is not that "all the cool kids are doing it". The problem is that the insurance companies use Press-Ganey as a weapon when negotiating fees, and even whether they will contract with certain hospitals. Beginning next year even Medicare is going to base part of the reimbursements on the hospital's Press-Ganey scores. And, whether we like it or not, hospitals are businesses, run by busnessmen. Management will never understand what nurses really do until we as a group force the issue. The is an excellent article on Medscape called "What do nurses really do?" that I believe should be required reading for all administration, patients, and visitors. One thing all of us can do is to write to our representatives regularly and explain that this misconception of what nursing really is is part of the reason for the nursing shortage and if they really want to cure the nursing shortage maybe they should allow hospitals to bill for the nursing care, not the beds. Then hospitals might make a better effort to assure safe staffing. People don't understand that patients are admitted to the hospital for the nursing care. In general, they see less of the MD than they would in an office visit, because we, the nurses are there to take care of them, instead they do think of us as overpaid waitresses. That will continus as long as we allow companies like J&J to emphasize compassion over education, experience, and intelligence in nurses. Compassion is wonderful, but anyone can be compassionate. Compassion alone never fixed anything. Nurses have the education to help. Nurses save lives and we should insist on being recognized for it.
Nursing is the largest dept. in any hospital, the most troublesome dept., and the most expensive dept., yet we contribute nothing to the bottom line of this big business and our mgmt. doesn't grasp what it is we really do. Because they can't see our contribution. What they see is the bed charge. Perhaps if we all work on changing that we can make nursing what we were taught in school it should be.
Our mgmt told us to write the score for the previous nurse's shift on the dry erase boards. We were supposed to ask the patient, "How would you rate your care last night (or today)"? Talk about setting up shift rivalry. :trout:
We need camaraderie.
Thankfully no one is doing it so I hope we have seen its demise.
Scoring the previous nurses' care? That is absurd!
...Nurses are soon going to burn out with this kind of thinking....
We can do 20 things right, but if some clip board carrying administrator trots up and whines about the ONE THING we aren't able to do, nurses will soon leave in droves....and who then, will take care of the sick and injured??? They need to wake up.
You took the words RIGHT out of my mouth! How many times do we sit in staff meetings, after a shift where we STILL havn't gone and peed (cause we have to go to the meeting now), and all we get is a litany of complaints about nurses. It's to the point where I attend exactly as many meetings as required and no more, because after a rough night, it's really hard to keep my mouth shut. I try to sit in the back, out of eye contact with whoever's leading the meeting. Get my name on the sign in sheet and shaddup .
Stress in bedside nursing is slowly creeping up toward critical mass. When it blows, what will all our "customers" and administrators do then?
You took the words RIGHT out of my mouth! How many times do we sit in staff meetings, after a shift where we STILL havn't gone and peed (cause we have to go to the meeting now), and all we get is a litany of complaints about nurses. It's to the point where I attend exactly as many meetings as required and no more, because after a rough night, it's really hard to keep my mouth shut. I try to sit in the back, out of eye contact with whoever's leading the meeting. Get my name on the sign in sheet and shaddup .
Stress in bedside nursing is slowly creeping up toward critical mass. When it blows, what will all our "customers" and administrators do then?
What about the IBS and kidney infections (and loss)? I know some. I am a new nurse, how do I interview? I am learning sadly that I signed up to waitress. I was never good at that. What can we do now though if anything? I refuse to do surveys. They are too ironic.
fmwf
73 Posts
What about when you d/c two and get two at 5:15 and 38p...and one pt family member faints while his mom is being carted to emergency surgery and your NM says "Everything ok? I'm gone. Do not call me at home. I won't answer." And you get dinged for the last two names?
It is the cynical nature of this set up that is really poisoned.