Patients and families want much more from nurses than competent clinical care.
Patients and families count on nurses to keep them informed, to connect them to their physicians and other caregivers, to listen to them, to ease their anxiety, and to protect and watch over them during their healthcare experience. Because of these high expectations of nurses, it’s no wonder that nursing performance, and more specifically, the nurse patient relationship, is so central to patient satisfaction and a quality patient experience.
Yet, in strategies to achieve service excellence, while some nurses are enthusiastic, committed and supportive, many express concerns and resistance.
• Some nurses feel insulted. They think, “I’m a nursing professional! I’m with people when they’re sick and dying, and now I’m being told to smile more?!?” Or they feel judged, “How dare anyone imply that I don’t care!?!”
• Some nurses feel resentful. They think, “When this organization removes the obstacles that make my life difficult, I’ll smile more!”
• And other nurses feel cynical. They think, “This IS important, but it won’t stick. This too shall pass like other things we’ve tried to do here.”
……………………