"Give whatever you are doing and whoever [sic] you are with the gift of your attention."
-Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and philosopher
As I reviewed the chart of Mrs. Velez, a 67-year-old woman with an upper GI bleed whom I had admitted the previous afternoon, I noted a few things about the flow of her hospital stay so far. First, I saw that the GI specialist had seen her at 9 PM, about an hour after her daughter – who was eager to speak with him - had mentioned she would need to leave the hospital. Second, at 11 PM, the patient was moved to a different room. And finally, I was making my rounds at 11:15 AM and she was still waiting to have her endoscopy procedure - and still NPO.
Such is the patient predicament, particularly in the acute care setting. Although we strive to make system improvements to extinguish events such as delays, unexpected or uncomfortable inconveniences and detours from the usual activities of daily living remain a part of the patient experience. And while many realize this reality, unexpected events such as these amplify patients’ lack of autonomy and control such that we may fail to meet their expectations in this realm.
Fortunately, providers and caregivers have many opportunities to simply acknowledge their patient’s situation as a means of showing compassion and simultaneously highlighting our own professional standards and the expectations we have for the care offered to our patients.
I knocked, entered Mrs. Velez room and found her daughter seated next to her.
“You must be starving,” I said to the patient, knowing that she had been NPO since midnight.
“Oh, yes! I hope nobody walks by with a hamburger – it’ll be mine.”
I laughed and mentioned that I was sorry they had moved her to a different room so late in the evening. Her daughter raised her eyebrows and nodded as Mrs. Velez told me she was quite unhappy because she was already asleep when they came to move her.
“I was pretty ticked when Jenny [charge nurse] came in. She was perfectly nice. It’s just that I was asleep. And it was a 20 minute production. But whaddya’ gonna do?”
“Thanks for being a good sport about it.”
Finally, I asked her daughter if she was up to speed on the plan and she informed me that the GI specialist had called her last night and explained everything.
After completing the encounter, the patient’s daughter stepped outside and thanked me for mentioning the room change because her mother had been quite upset, but “wouldn’t ever say anything to anyone about it.”
Being mindful of our patients’ surroundings and acknowledging the impact of both planned and unplanned interventions can greatly improve the patient experience.
In these moments, we show patients that we are truly paying attention to their predicament. They deserve as much.
-Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and philosopher
As I reviewed the chart of Mrs. Velez, a 67-year-old woman with an upper GI bleed whom I had admitted the previous afternoon, I noted a few things about the flow of her hospital stay so far. First, I saw that the GI specialist had seen her at 9 PM, about an hour after her daughter – who was eager to speak with him - had mentioned she would need to leave the hospital. Second, at 11 PM, the patient was moved to a different room. And finally, I was making my rounds at 11:15 AM and she was still waiting to have her endoscopy procedure - and still NPO.
Such is the patient predicament, particularly in the acute care setting. Although we strive to make system improvements to extinguish events such as delays, unexpected or uncomfortable inconveniences and detours from the usual activities of daily living remain a part of the patient experience. And while many realize this reality, unexpected events such as these amplify patients’ lack of autonomy and control such that we may fail to meet their expectations in this realm.
Fortunately, providers and caregivers have many opportunities to simply acknowledge their patient’s situation as a means of showing compassion and simultaneously highlighting our own professional standards and the expectations we have for the care offered to our patients.
I knocked, entered Mrs. Velez room and found her daughter seated next to her.
“You must be starving,” I said to the patient, knowing that she had been NPO since midnight.
“Oh, yes! I hope nobody walks by with a hamburger – it’ll be mine.”
I laughed and mentioned that I was sorry they had moved her to a different room so late in the evening. Her daughter raised her eyebrows and nodded as Mrs. Velez told me she was quite unhappy because she was already asleep when they came to move her.
“I was pretty ticked when Jenny [charge nurse] came in. She was perfectly nice. It’s just that I was asleep. And it was a 20 minute production. But whaddya’ gonna do?”
“Thanks for being a good sport about it.”
Finally, I asked her daughter if she was up to speed on the plan and she informed me that the GI specialist had called her last night and explained everything.
After completing the encounter, the patient’s daughter stepped outside and thanked me for mentioning the room change because her mother had been quite upset, but “wouldn’t ever say anything to anyone about it.”
Being mindful of our patients’ surroundings and acknowledging the impact of both planned and unplanned interventions can greatly improve the patient experience.
In these moments, we show patients that we are truly paying attention to their predicament. They deserve as much.
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