It only takes a few extra seconds....

2 So I am nearly done with my preceptorship. It has been hard.

I could write a really long post but what I really want to say is this.....

The biggest takeaway thus far is that patients are living, feeling, thinking human beings. They are angry, scared, sad, lonely, the whole gamut of emotions....

It only takes a few extra seconds to smile, use therapeutic touch, to basically go the extra mile.

There are many on here who resist the fact that nursing IS a customer SERVICE job. We are providing a service to these patients.

My extensive customer service background has and will serve me well.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Do not do unto others what you do not want done unto you.
Sounds like the implication is that the majority of nurses don't take the extra few seconds to smile or treat their patients like human beings. I can't speak for everyone on here, but I know many nurses that go the extra mile for patients, including me. I don't deny that your customer service background may help you, but patients are still not customers. Technically, I guess they can be defined that way since they are purchasing a service, medical care, with their insurance. What does that make the uninsured then? They don't have the ability to purchase medical care lol. And, I'm not laughing at the uninsured. That's very sad. I'm laughing at the absurdity of "patients" as "customers," though it doesn't surprise me. This lingo has been around for a while, and it's just the whole Press Ganey, patient satisfaction push. I treat my patients very well, and provide high quality care. But, patient care cannot be put on the same level as business. Hospitals need to make money to stay afloat, yes, but patient care is not customer service. Patients should be involved in their care, yes, but I do not get my patient what he wants if it is not safe for him, i.e fresh esophageal varice banding patient wanting peanuts and popcorn, for instance. In a purely customer service atmosphere, you yield to the customer even if it's a ridiculous request since you risk losing your customer. If you yield to a patients' ridiculous request, you risk his life or needed time with another patient. We can agree to disagree, though.

So it took a preceptorship for you to grasp the golden rule? Better late than never, I guess.This is not customer service. Customers do not need 15 yards of kerlix stuffed into wounds. Customers ask for extra raNcH DresSing or a larger size in those cute pants. Having "extensive experience" will serve you well when patients and their families insist on acting as if they are in a 5-star hotel, to be sure, but it is not the basis of good nursing.

Hi Gil....With respect my friend, perhaps you are reading in to my post a bit.My true feeling is that most nurses are fantastic. I decided to become a nurse because of fantastic nurses that cared for me.....I am not saying to run around like a chicken with a cut of head....of course we cannot let a pt dominate our time.However, we can smile and be pleasant as we push that 15 yards of kerlix into a patients wound rather than curse under our breath and be grouchy yes?I am saying that I will take the FEW FEW FEW extra moments...Its the little tiny things that I will do that will make a big difference........

Quote from pockunitSo it took a preceptorship for you to grasp the golden rule? Better late than never, I guess.This is not customer service. Customers do not need 15 yards of kerlix stuffed into wounds. Customers ask for extra raNcH DresSing or a larger size in those cute pants. Having "extensive experience" will serve you well when patients and their families insist on acting as if they are in a 5-star hotel, to be sure, but it is not the basis of good nursing.

I am pretty sure your preceptor will be posting soon with the same first line you posted...just saying.

Quote from mindlorThat patient can get that kerlix stuffed into their wound at a hospital that provides excellent service......for the most part patients have a choice as to where they receive care.......Would love to hear some thoughts from nurse managers here regarding customer service as it relates to nursing care....

Obviously nursing care comes first as the PP explained.... but I agree with the OP that nursing is most definitely related to customer service. In fact, I just recently went on an interview where the NM was extremely impressed with my past jobs because they were customer service jobs. I'm the one who actually said 'Well I know these aren't related to nursing but I did learn XYZ about customer service.' She stopped me and said NO These ARE related to nursing because of the customer service. Remember patient satisfaction scores? Those are customer service surveys where nurses are judged based on the patient's perception of good service. Nursing used to not be this way but it has certainly become this way...."In a purely customer service atmosphere, you yield to the customer even if it's a ridiculous request since you risk losing your customer. If you yield to a patients' ridiculous request, you risk his life or needed time with another patient."...This is FAR from the truth. I've had several instances where I had to explain over and over again the policy of the institution and why I couldn't budge on price, service, time, etc. Yes we strive to make the customers happy but we don't adhere to all "ridiculous requests." Price comes to mind the most. Customers complain about price AFTER they have the service done. My last job has NEVER given a customer a discounted price just because they b*tched about it. Just saying.

Hmmmm, just read my horoscope for today....Interesting....Not that you would, but with your compelling presence you could start your own cult right now. Instead, dwell in the intersection of fantasy and reality -- and, yes, let people worship you.

Quote from Samantha13Obviously nursing care comes first as the PP explained.... but I agree with the OP that nursing is most definitely related to customer service. In fact, I just recently went on an interview where the NM was extremely impressed with my past jobs because they were customer service jobs. I'm the one who actually said 'Well I know these aren't related to nursing but I did learn XYZ about customer service.' She stopped me and said NO These ARE related to nursing because of the customer service. Remember patient satisfaction scores? Those are customer service surveys where nurses are judged based on the patient's perception of good service. Nursing used to not be this way but it has certainly become this way....

Listen PSU, change is coming. It is going to be adapt or die.....Lets take my dear preceptor for example.Is she a GREAT NURSE? YesWould I want her at my bedside as I circled the drain? YESHowever,Do all her peers detest her? YESDo all her patients detest her? YESWill she be employed at her place of employment much longer? NoShe runs around the floor like a rabid Rhinocerous and well sorry....Its not gonna fly anymore.....

Thank god I work in a nationalized care system.My patients like me and have sent in appreciation notes. Does my job depend on this? No. I'm unionized and would pretty much have to forget to code the Prime Minister (not that many would fault me for that).Our job isn't to keep the patients happy and satisfied. It's to get them healthy enough to move through the system to rehab or home. It isn't in my mandate to find them soft drinks (you want one? find your way to a vending machine with your own loonie), cater to their whims, and make sure they think the hospital is the greatest thing evah. It's their tax dollar paying for their care and most of them realize that fact.

I think I was understanding you until the horoscope thing. That was just weird and egocentric.