Would you apologize, if you'd done nothing wrong

[imintrouble]

A pt complained about a nurse not helping enough. It was a very vague complaint amid a whole string of complaints. Food, the room too cold, too long to wait...

In the interest of patient satisfaction the nurse was "encouraged" to approach the patient AND family, and apologize for their unhelpful behavior. ( I can't be more specific about the complaint)

There were no threats of being fired, but management was not going to be happy if the nurse refused. I've offered a fair amount of apologies over the years, but not because someone told me to.

Would you apologize?

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

It is all about perception. If the patient has a string of complaints--there is a few of those that do not pertain to you as the nurse. I would ask the manager if case managment might be a good person to meet with the patient and you so that ALL of the complaints can be addressed. (Cause unless you are preparing food for this patient, you have no control over the quality of the food). A case manager (who hopefully is creating a good and swift discharge plan) can address things with other disciplines besides yourself.

I would address this as "going forward, I want to be sure that we are communicating appropriately, and that your needs for NURSING CARE are met" "We will discuss your plan for the day when I arrive to assess you. Then I will be rounding every hour. Should you need anything in the meantime, please use your call bell".

When we all have to use phrases such as "excellent care" and "I have the time" it sets up unrealistic expectations. Of course we want to provide good care. However, with a number of other patients in our patient load, we do NOT always "have the time". I am not suggesting sub-standard care, merely pointing out that multiple complaints--some of which are not in our control--are things that could be addressed by other disciplines--as we are not private nurses with one patient.

Instead of a "I'm sorry" you could address this as "we have a miscommunication" and go forward from there. Unfortunetely, if you are in a place where you are sorry-ing patients without some sort of plan, then tomorrow the pillow will be too flat, your tone of voice will need to change, it is too dark/bright in the room......

Keep on reinforcing the "plan". Document when you round each hour. Get case management involved. Frankly, if one is consumed with the temperature and food, then one start making plans to go home.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Make the proper "noises" and move on....I acknowledge that you felt Blah blah blah and I am sorry you felt that way for we always try to do our best.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I agree with the last post. Make them verbalize the issue. If it is significant enough to warrant honest regret, I might apologize. If it is petty customer service crap, I'd say something like: "thank you for sharing your observations with us. We here at HappyFlowerKittyLand Hospital feel it is important to hear the patients out regarding concerns. I'll make sure your comments get their due attention." Then I'd get on with business and not mention it again. I would not be likely to utter the words "I am sorry" and certainly not "I apologize" unless 1) the complaint was legitimate and 2) I was directly at fault.

^^^^This.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I never minded the phrase "I'm going to take care of you" until it started to mean everything. I think a better phrase would be "I'm going to assist you in your care."

"I'm going to take care of you" is a sweet, comforting, warm, and fuzzy phrase. Hospitals are not warm and fuzzy places. At least mine isn't. I can't do everything. I just can't. Now I can't even prioritize. I have to smooze with the bully in 602 so I don't lose my job.

I'm the first with an "I'm sorry" when warranted. But because I'm able to admit when I'm wrong, I can't agree to it when I'm not.

I probably won't be admitting I did anything wrong this time. I really like the alternatives posted. The whole double talk appeasement strategy. "Make the proper noises". I love that.

When apologies become mandatory, AND THEY WILL, I'll just have to bend.

Who would ever have thought 20 years ago, a patient could come to the hospital with unsubstantiated complaints of pain, and ask for the dose and type of pain med they wanted. Then have an MD order it.

I see customer service in hospitals careening down the same path.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

It is all about perception. If the patient has a string of complaints--there is a few of those that do not pertain to you as the nurse. I would ask the manager if case managment might be a good person to meet with the patient and you so that ALL of the complaints can be addressed. (Cause unless you are preparing food for this patient, you have no control over the quality of the food). A case manager (who hopefully is creating a good and swift discharge plan) can address things with other disciplines besides yourself.

I would address this as "going forward, I want to be sure that we are communicating appropriately, and that your needs for NURSING CARE are met" "We will discuss your plan for the day when I arrive to assess you. Then I will be rounding every hour. Should you need anything in the meantime, please use your call bell".

When we all have to use phrases such as "excellent care" and "I have the time" it sets up unrealistic expectations. Of course we want to provide good care. However, with a number of other patients in our patient load, we do NOT always "have the time". I am not suggesting sub-standard care, merely pointing out that multiple complaints--some of which are not in our control--are things that could be addressed by other disciplines--as we are not private nurses with one patient.

Instead of a "I'm sorry" you could address this as "we have a miscommunication" and go forward from there. Unfortunetely, if you are in a place where you are sorry-ing patients without some sort of plan, then tomorrow the pillow will be too flat, your tone of voice will need to change, it is too dark/bright in the room......

Keep on reinforcing the "plan". Document when you round each hour. Get case management involved. Frankly, if one is consumed with the temperature and food, then one start making plans to go home.

Perfect.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Apologize on behalf of the hospital, or make a personal apology?

It would be a personal apology.

[SionainnRN]

I'm in the ER and people complain about EVERYTHING! 90% of the complaints are things I have no control over. But you know what, it's no skin off my teeth to apologize to them. Just saying that you're sorry for the wait, or room, or whatever else is bothering them goes so far to making them feel better. All they really want is to know is that someone is hearing them and acknowledging their issue. I never say we did something wrong, unless we did, just that I'm sorry they aren't having a good experience. Works wonders.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

[nurse2033, MSN, RN]

Sure. "I'm sorry you feel that way".

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Here's what I would do:

Hear them out. Ask exactly what has disappointed them. If there is anything the applies directly to me, I would say "I'm sorry." If it does not apply to me, I'm not going to directly apologize to them. And I am definitely not going to apologize for the food--do they really have the expectation of getting good food in the hospital??? I would tell them that I will pass their concerns off to those who are in the best position to deal with them (food service, the NM, etc, etc.). If possible, I will give them an update on the issues. For example, "I received an email back from the food service manager and they are looking into their process of putting the correct type of jelly on the tray."

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

A pt complained about a nurse not helping enough. It was a very vague complaint amid a whole string of complaints. Food, the room too cold, too long to wait...

In the interest of patient satisfaction the nurse was "encouraged" to approach the patient AND family, and apologize for their unhelpful behavior. ( I can't be more specific about the complaint)

There were no threats of being fired, but management was not going to be happy if the nurse refused. I've offered a fair amount of apologies over the years, but not because someone told me to.

Would you apologize?

Well, I'd certainly let management believe I was going to! Then I'd probably talk to patient and family, but I'm not certain I'd actually apologize. That wasn't very helpful, was it? This has actually happened to me a few times -- usually the problem is in expectations of the patient/family and not in my care. If there was something I could legitimately apologize for, I would. But not just for the sake of Press Gainey.

[IrishErin]

I frequently say "I'm sorry that you feel ________" it seems to placate most people that have petty complaints like their food tray was late, or it's too noisy, or they had to wait for an hour to see the doctor. I would give a genuine apology to someone that had a genuine reason to be upset with me.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

If I fell short, I apologize.

I'll try to smooth things over if it's a nursing dept. issue. Not throw my colleague under the bus if the pt is being unrealistic, but at least listen to the problem. If they are upset over a misunderstanding I'll explain it to them and do whatever I can within reason.

But if it has nothing to do with me and nothing I can fix (e.g. the veggies were mushy, the housekeeper missed a spot, they were mad about all the vent alarms keeping them awake...) I give them the patient relations number.