Why can't hospitals do better?

If your looking for quality care chances are you're about to be gravely disappointed. Home health tends to be better, but for the most part most for profit facilities are not doing anything but counting the money; however the future is yours and having been a critical RN for 35 yrs I sense serious change on the horizon. Quality can only go up and you can be part of a vibrant change. In the environment you're going into you must love yourself first. Protect yourself as best you can and stick to policy as best you can. Make the pharmacy personal your friends and keep lines open with them, they can help you more than you know as medication adm is a major part of critical care nursing. Good Luck.

You are idealistic, that can be a good thing, but it can lead to terrible burn out when what should be is so very far removed from what is and systems are so complex.

I recommend looking at the information provided by the Kaiser Family Foundation (kff.org) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (rwjf.org) for some insight.

Thanks for the replies.

Any comments on the book "God's Hotel". I haven't picked it up but have heard some very negative things about the book, even accusations of lies etc.

My question is, is this all about the money?

Yes, especially if you are seeking care in for-profit facilities.

Yes, money matters, but it's a complex issue. Do you think more money should be spent on enhancing the food and creating more warmth in the care environment (better furnishings, decor, etc)? Do you think that money should be spent on these areas at the expense of other needs, such as equipment, supplies, and staffing? The problem is that resources are limited, so there is going to be a give and take on where the money goes. Health care is so darn expensive as it is, for a number of reasons. How does this fit into cost containment?That being said, I have worked in facilities that are pouring money into the hotel-esque features: room service, improved accomodations for family members, bigger rooms, plush waiting rooms, breathtaking lobbies, etc. There is an environment in healthcare where patients can choose where they go for their care, to some extent. And many patients are choosing based on the accomodations as much as they are the actual healthcare they receiver (as many are better judges as to the quality of a grilled cheese sandwich vs. the quality of surgical care they receive).

Sometimes I look at my patients, whether they are poor, rich, educated, uneducated, whatever, and I look at the technologically advanced, interdisciplinary medical, surgical, and nursing care they are getting, how each and every person who comes in contact with them in the facility is there to help them in some way, and I think: wow, do they even know how lucky they are? Some are very grateful, but some seem to take it for granted. Yes, I understand you want to go home, but you know we saved your life, right?

​Grow up and smell the profit,a hospital is not about healing , it is about how well did you like your accommodations?The best bull ******* gets the best press ganey survey marks.That grinning incompetent ass will get higher grades on press ganey because she knows how to be lazy and pretend to work by being a glib,fast talker.The stupid managers will love him/her.

Sometimes I look at my patients, whether they are poor, rich, educated, uneducated, whatever, and I look at the technologically advanced, interdisciplinary medical, surgical, and nursing care they are getting, how each and every person who comes in contact with them in the facility is there to help them in some way, and I think: wow, do they even know how lucky they are? Some are very grateful, but some seem to take it for granted. Yes, I understand you want to go home, but you know we saved your life, right?

I respectfully disagree with the above, although I will say that in the US, with decent health insurance, people are fortunate to have available to them high quality medical care, and often don't realize how inferior the medical care is in many other parts of the world. People often are very sick when they are hospitalized. I believe that patients should be able to take for granted that the staff are there to help them, as that is the sole reason patients are hospitalized, and is the service for which they (or their insurance) are paying. Health care facilities provide a service for which they are compensated. The staff is not providing their services free of charge. One could say that the staff are lucky that patients come to their facility to be cared for by them, as it provides them with their livelihood. Patients don't need to consider themselves lucky to receive care; they have a lot more on their mind and often are fighting for their lives.

Patients may be too sick to be able to express appreciation at the time they are hospitalized, and may have many reasons for wanting to go home now, but often show appreciation as soon as they are well enough with thank you cards and gifts, and in giving good feedback on customer surveys. And yes, of course some patients are unappreciative, for which there may be many reasons.

Thank you for all the responses minus one, one is just pure monkey chatter....

Nursing used to be about healing the sick person. Now its about slap dash once over lightly, do the bare minimum, get em in and out as quickly as possible, and make as much profit as possible, and do it all with a huge grin on your face,