by jalvino1
I'm sorry, but I didn't realize I signed up to please the customer. While the nurses go around reminding the patients this is a hospital, not a hotel, we get notices that we SHOULD make these people feel like they're in a hotel. Or "even if you know they're wrong, you should apologize and let them know that they're right" THIS IS AN ACTUAL MEMO THAT APPEARED IN MY MAILBOX.
... oh but it gets worse.
I got tapped on the shoulder by the "hospital customer service rep" telling me this patient (customer) really really wants a milkshake and would really make her day if she could have a milkshake. And I tell this rep this patient just had a bowel resection yesterday and not only can she NOT have a milkshake, but she probably can't even have water, even ice, for the next couple days. I spend all day listening to this patient whine and complain, and now the hospital has provided her a rep to follow me out in the hallway to whine and complain. And neither of them can admit that although a milkshake would make the patient really happy for about 15 mins, going back to surgery and prolonging the recovery would not. I know there's a lot of things in the medical field that seem downright cruel. But if we go by "the customer is always right" keep the patient/customer happy, there will be consequences.
Should customer service be #1 priority? Or am I just being delusional believing that patient safety is more important than patient satisfaction?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
leadership in nursing
Leadership theory I am comfortable with and the theory I based it d lesson learned.
Leadership has been described as the wise use of power and the ability to influence others effectively in order to accomplish a goal.. Nursing needs leadership in order to run day-to-day tasks effectively. Yet, this is not the only role of nursing leadership. The other is knowing how to make visions come true, that is, how to offer a secure environment for their patients or how to treat them in a dignified and
respectful manner.
respectful manner.
The leadership style I am comfortable with is Democratic style, because, the leader fully shapes her decision-making power with her subordinates, allowing each member of the group to carry an equal vote. One person, one vote. The leader consults with subordinates and encourages participation from them. I can fully work to my optimum capacity under this style, since there is no pressure at all. There is also he chance to voice out my own ideas for the improvement of the delivery of the health care system.
I based it in the theory of Situational theories. These theories became popular during the 1950s. They suggest that the traits required of a leader differ according to varying situations. Among the variables that determine the effectiveness of leadership style are factors such as the personality of the leader and followers, the attitudes, needs and expectations of the leader and followers, the degree of interpersonal contact possible, time pressures, physical environment, organizational structure, the nature of organization, the state of the leader outside of the group. A person may be a leader in one situation and a follower in another because the type of leadership needed depends on the situation.
Thus, I learned that an effective leadership is considered the one that maintains the entire rings of this chain intact, facilitating and supporting continuously the individual operations of this labour model. Yet, there are certain characteristics in both the leader and the follower, which if they share will determine the point where the leader and the follower will meet towards harmony rather than conflict. Leadership is on a ward environment, not merely a power game. It is rather a matter of Responsibility, Choice,
Respect, Confidence. Finally, in order to achieve an overall conclusion in a concise way, we tried to find an "absolute" definition of the good leader. Yet all the modern theories together with the most updated dictionaries did not generate a satisfying definition. On the contrary, it was the ancient Chinese philosophy that had the answer to our search. “Good leaders exert their leadership in such a way that their followers do not realize that the leader
exists.”
exists.”
Latest trends that affects nursing and personal reaction.
The millennium has become the metaphor for the extraordinary challenges and opportunities available to the nursing profession and to those academic institutions responsible for preparing the next generation of nurses. Signal change is all around us, defining not only what we teach, but also how we teach our students. Transformations taking place in nursing and nursing education have been driven by major socioeconomic factors, as well as by developments in health care delivery and professional issues unique to nursing. According to Barbara R Heller (www.nln.org/nlnjournal/infotrends.htm)there are ten trends to watch for and one of them is:
The Era of the Educated Consumer, Alternative Therapies and Genomics, and Palliative Care.
The Educated Consumer Despite some information gaps, today's patient is a well-informed consumer who expects to participate in decisions affecting personal and family health care. With advances in information technology and quality measurement, previously unavailable information is now public information, and consumers are asked to play a more active role in health care decision making and management. The media and the Internet have facilitated this trend.
Technological advances in the treatment of disease have led to the need for ethical, informed decision making by patients and families. Consumers are thus becoming more interested and knowledgeable about health promotion as well as disease prevention, and there is increased acceptance and demand for alternative and complementary health options. The increased power of the consumer in the patient-provider relationship creates a heightened demand for more sophisticated health education techniques and greater levels of participation by patients in clinical decisions. Nurses must be prepared to understand this changed relationship and be skilled in helping patients and families maximize opportunities to manage their health.
Alternative Therapies and Genomics Amazing growth is taking place at opposing ends of the technological spectrum. The impact of the Human Genome Project and related genetic and cloning research is unparalleled. Gene mapping will drive rapid advances in the development of new drugs and the treatment and prevention of disease. Technological sophistication of the highest order is required for this research, which has the potential to lead to unparalleled ethical questions and conflicts while bringing about critical diagnostic and therapeutic developments.
At the low-tech end of the spectrum, the voracious demand by consumers for "alternative" or "complementary" therapies to enhance health and healing has begun to influence mainstream health care delivery. Several academic medical centers now have offices of alternative medicine, and the National Institutes of Health recently funded new initiatives dedicated to this field. Increasingly, major health systems are seeking ways to provide both traditional, Western medicine while offering the best of the alternative therapies to their patients.
As is true for many trends, alternative medicine holds both promise and peril. While it is thought that it may unlock behavioral and spiritual components of health and healing heretofore resistant to most conventional medicine, risks of consumer fraud, therapeutic conflict, and patient noncompliance are real. Nursing research has the potential to enhance knowledge regarding what constitutes a "healing" therapy. Nursing education and practice must expand to include the implications of the emerging therapies from both genetic research and alternative medicine, while managing ethical conflicts and questions. The inclusion of nontraditional health care providers may augment the health care team.
Palliative and End-of-Life Care Technological advancements in the treatment of illness and disease have created new modalities that extend life while challenging traditional ethical and societal values regarding death and dying. Greater recognition of the need to ensure comfort and promote dignity is reflected in the now nearly universal promotion of advanced directives, organ donation, and palliative care for the terminally ill. New settings for care, such as inpatient and home-based hospice, and new forms of care, including pain management, spiritual practices, and support groups and bereavement counseling, are now likely to be part of well-developed health care systems. A significant gap in the body of scientific knowledge and clinical education with regard to palliative and end-of-life care remains, and nursing education must prepare graduates for a significant role in these areas.
The Educated Consumer Despite some information gaps, today's patient is a well-informed consumer who expects to participate in decisions affecting personal and family health care. With advances in information technology and quality measurement, previously unavailable information is now public information, and consumers are asked to play a more active role in health care decision making and management. The media and the Internet have facilitated this trend.
Technological advances in the treatment of disease have led to the need for ethical, informed decision making by patients and families. Consumers are thus becoming more interested and knowledgeable about health promotion as well as disease prevention, and there is increased acceptance and demand for alternative and complementary health options. The increased power of the consumer in the patient-provider relationship creates a heightened demand for more sophisticated health education techniques and greater levels of participation by patients in clinical decisions. Nurses must be prepared to understand this changed relationship and be skilled in helping patients and families maximize opportunities to manage their health.
Alternative Therapies and Genomics Amazing growth is taking place at opposing ends of the technological spectrum. The impact of the Human Genome Project and related genetic and cloning research is unparalleled. Gene mapping will drive rapid advances in the development of new drugs and the treatment and prevention of disease. Technological sophistication of the highest order is required for this research, which has the potential to lead to unparalleled ethical questions and conflicts while bringing about critical diagnostic and therapeutic developments.
At the low-tech end of the spectrum, the voracious demand by consumers for "alternative" or "complementary" therapies to enhance health and healing has begun to influence mainstream health care delivery. Several academic medical centers now have offices of alternative medicine, and the National Institutes of Health recently funded new initiatives dedicated to this field. Increasingly, major health systems are seeking ways to provide both traditional, Western medicine while offering the best of the alternative therapies to their patients.
As is true for many trends, alternative medicine holds both promise and peril. While it is thought that it may unlock behavioral and spiritual components of health and healing heretofore resistant to most conventional medicine, risks of consumer fraud, therapeutic conflict, and patient noncompliance are real. Nursing research has the potential to enhance knowledge regarding what constitutes a "healing" therapy. Nursing education and practice must expand to include the implications of the emerging therapies from both genetic research and alternative medicine, while managing ethical conflicts and questions. The inclusion of nontraditional health care providers may augment the health care team.
Palliative and End-of-Life Care Technological advancements in the treatment of illness and disease have created new modalities that extend life while challenging traditional ethical and societal values regarding death and dying. Greater recognition of the need to ensure comfort and promote dignity is reflected in the now nearly universal promotion of advanced directives, organ donation, and palliative care for the terminally ill. New settings for care, such as inpatient and home-based hospice, and new forms of care, including pain management, spiritual practices, and support groups and bereavement counseling, are now likely to be part of well-developed health care systems. A significant gap in the body of scientific knowledge and clinical education with regard to palliative and end-of-life care remains, and nursing education must prepare graduates for a significant role in these areas.
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