Scripting

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As nurses we all use scripted phrases. Some are our own personal phrases that have worked for years and result in positive outcome each and everytime that they are used. Some are those passed down by administration and even those seem to work.

I am working on a presentation involving scripting and would love for each of you to share some of your scripted phrases with me and how you use them. How do you feel about scripted phrases? Thanks for your help!:bowingpur

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

My personal phrase: "Is there anything else you need before I leave your room?"

I feel positively about scripted phrases, but only as long as management isn't creating the script and forcing the nursing staff to use it when talking to patients and answering the phone.

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I agree wholeheartedly. The script has to be your own, however; I think that by seeing examples or hearing examples of what others use can be helpful to those who are new to the field. Thanks for your input! :yeah:
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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I agree with the general tone this thread is taking. It can be very helpful to have some phrases "pre-identified" to use in certain situations. However, it can be totally ridiculous when management forces people to say things consistently whether or not it makes sense in that particular situation.

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i would think that scripting or scripted phrases should be used as guidelines and probably not verbatim phrases. personally, i know many nurses that just cannot communicate. their intentions are great but they just do not know how to get their thoughts across. i have made many suggestions to my staff related to scripting and it has worked. by no means would i expect them to say verbatim what i have offered as a suggestion. can you think of any other instances where you or others that you know use scripting? i appreciate all of the help and comments that come my way.:D

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I hate the idea of mandatory scripting being done in hospitals. Patients should be treated as individuals not bodies in beds. What's appropriate to say to one patient is totally inappropriate for another. The nurse is the one who can decide that by judging the situation and making the appropriate comments. I don't even like the scripted comments when I call the cable company so I can only imagine how I'd feel hearing the robotic comments coming from a nurse in a hospital setting. Staff and patients both deserve better.

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i agree that all patients should be treated as individuals. i am probably one of the biggest patient advocates that walks the earth as i have had to be on the other side far too many times. my question is this, how do we teach new nurses or seasoned nurses with poor communication skills to use tact and tone at all times when communicating with patients? how do we train them to get the same concept across each and every time without incident? ;)

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Before leaving a room I say "Do you need anything else before I go? I'll be back to check on you later." Sometimes I add "And remember- ladies/gentlemen- no pillow fights!" It adds a bit of lightheartedness to the situation.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
i agree that all patients should be treated as individuals. i am probably one of the biggest patient advocates that walks the earth as i have had to be on the other side far too many times. my question is this, how do we teach new nurses or seasoned nurses with poor communication skills to use tact and tone at all times when communicating with patients? how do we train them to get the same concept across each and every time without incident? ;)

that's never going to happen, because all of us are individuals with our own perceptions of the world. our personalities are shaped by our experiences, and that will always be a variable in our communications with one another. there is no 'one-size=fits-all' when it comes to dealing with human beings. there are generally accepted ways to communicate with patients/residents/clients that convey the respect and thoughtfulness they deserve; what cannot be guaranteed is how they will receive it.

i don't argue the fact that diplomacy and tact are skills that can be taught to everyone, and that would undoubtedly smooth the way to better relationships with those we care for. the respect from which diplomacy should naturally spring, however, seems to be lacking in society in general, and healthcare in particular. some of it is generational; much of the under-40 set seems to be remarkably undisturbed by words and phrases that make us older folks cringe, and "manners" seem almost like a dusty relic of the distant past. but the sense of duty and the desire to please others that were built into earlier generations have to be instilled in the young against the grain of a society that has a raging sense of entitlement........and demands instant gratification.

i know; i fought that uphill battle as a parent, and now my children are having to fight the entire culture in order to counteract its influences on their children. every day, i see little kids of my grandsons' ages already out of control, screaming, hitting, cursing, demanding.......and the parents give in to it! then those same parents look at my grown children, trying to teach some manners to their young, as if they'd just sprouted three heads. no wonder our society is going to hell in the proverbial handbasket.

but, i digress. personally, i hate the idea that 'scripting' is ever necessary, and i would fight it tooth and nails if i were ever to work for a facility that forces its professionals to use canned speeches. but i also know that sometimes, you actually have to teach grown men and women how to talk with others in a polite and respectful manner, because they either didn't learn it at home or don't believe it's important anymore.

just my fifty cents worth.;)

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:heartbeat i absolutely agree with you regarding your description of the "me me" generation. that is what i call them because it is all about them. no manners, no respect, and no changing. these are the individuals that benefit the most from scripting when it is in their own words.

i have 2 young ladies that are in their early twenties on my m/s staff. they are awesome nurses but when they open their mouths you want to head for the hills. they speak to each other disrespectfully and happen to be best friends. their skills are exemplary. i have worked on tact and tone with them and offered some scripting to tweak and use. it has worked wonderfully. so, it does work for some. thank you for your 50 cents worth. it was really worth a million. take care and god bless your children that serve our country.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Well, it wasn't my intention to ignite any inter-generational word wars, but thank you.

Of course, there are exceptions to EVERY generalization---I raised four of them, and I know there are wonderful, caring people of all ages. I have also dealt with my share of older adults (and their families) who could use some etiquette lessons, most of them at my last assisted living facility. My Lord, I never saw so many selfish, spoiled, overindulged, and outright rude people in one place in my life! In the 3 1/2 months I worked there, I was met at the door every single day either by a complaining resident or family member, or a caregiver whose greeting was "Mr. So-and-so's family is PO'd because....."

Granted, this facility was billed as the "Hilton" of ALFs, with rates to match, and in a way I didn't blame people when the service didn't live up to the advertisements. But when a 65-year-old woman gets in your face because the poor caregivers cum waitresses made her mom wait FIVE MINUTES for coffee while they tended to the resident who fell in the hallway......well, as I said, there are mean, petty, egocentric, nasty folks from all walks of life.

As a Baby Boomer, though, I do find it odd that as a generation, we somehow failed to pass on the manners and social norms we learned at our mothers' knees. Time was, not so very long ago, that you NEVER heard the F-bomb thrown around like it is now---for us, as well as the generations before us, it was pretty much the ultimate cuss word. Now people use terms that I didn't even know existed before I was married, and wouldn't say if my life depended on it; they scratch and burp and fart and pick their noses in public; and they talk loudly on their cell phones everywhere, including church!

I hate to think that I'm hopelessly old-fashioned, and I really wouldn't turn back time even if I could. The 'old days' weren't all that great..........but they were definitely more polite, and I miss that sometimes.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

scripting = BARF to me

we are to finish the shift with "thank you for choosing.... health care system". (do you want fries with that?)

It's getting harder to wipe my own vomit off my shoes before I leave for the day. Scripting is a tough sell for me all, sry

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