Posts Tagged ‘Customer Service in Health Care’
Customer Service: It IS Your Job!
Whether we’re RNs, LPNs or CNAs, most of us got into nursing out of a desire to help people. But, like it or not, health care is a business…with both external customers (patients) and internal customers (co-workers). How each of us treats our “customers” has a big impact on our most important outcome: patient health and well-being.
I was reminded of that today, in a small way, when I went to the drug store to pick up a prescription. The pharmacist greeted me and asked how she could help. I told her my name and she brought my prescription to the counter. She asked if I had any questions…the usual drill. Then, instead of ringing up my prescription and sending me on my merry way, she said, “My assistant will be with you shortly.”
Unfortunately, her assistant was swamped with people who were dropping off prescriptions. And, the “drop off” line kept getting longer as I stood at the register. This meant that people who arrived after me were being served first. Meanwhile, the pharmacist stood a mere five feet from the register. I was the only person waiting to pay, so she could have checked me out in less than a minute. In fact, in the time it took her to tell me the assistant would help me, she could have been halfway through the process! Instead, I was forced to wait more than ten minutes for the pharmacy assistant.
OK, I get it. The pharmacist went to school for a lot longer than her assistant. And, I’m sure the pharmacist had plenty of prescriptions to fill. But, she did not demonstrate good customer service to me (the “patient”) or to her co-worker. She was in full-on “it’s not my job” mode!
We’ve probably all been guilty of ignoring the needs of a patient or co-worker with the justification that we had something more important to do or that the task wasn’t in our job description. In my work with CNAs, I’ve heard stories that make me cringe: the nurse who brushed off the patient who asked for fresh water because that was the aide’s job (so the patient waited 30 minutes for water). Or the CNA who ignored her co-worker’s plea for help making an occupied bed…because she didn’t like the co-worker.
We all get busy, caught up with fulfilling the responsibilities of our daily assignment. But who suffers in the above examples? The patient. Each and every time.
There’s no way around it: every interaction between two nursing co-workers has an impact, either positive or negative, on patient care. If you think your staff could use a reminder of this fact, consider downloading our FREE inservice, Customer Service in Health Care. It focuses on issues like internal and external customers, customer expectations, the price of poor customer service, handling customer complaints…and much more. Like all our CNA inservices, it provides an hour of inservice credit.
And feel free to share your customer service stories–for example, a story of exceptional customer service by one of your CNAs or a cautionary tale of what not to do!
Happy Teaching,
Linda
Are Your CNAs Emotionally Competent?
Much of the day-to-day work of a nursing assistant has to do with competencies. For example, does the CNA know how to make an occupied bed, transfer a person safely from a bed to a wheelchair or take an accurate blood pressure reading? But are task-based competencies enough to ensure quality client care?
If you ask Daniel Goleman, the answer would be no. In the 1990s, he researched and wrote the book, Emotional Intelligence. His theory was that people could enhance their personal and professional success by mastering five key emotional competencies. How do you think your nursing assistants rank when it comes to emotional intelligence?
1. Awareness of Self and Others.
People with a high “emotional IQ,” also called “EQ,” should be able to identify their feelings accurately. Imagine your CNAs are working with a difficult client. Can they tell if they are feeling irritated, hurt or angry when the client is unfriendly? Can they look past their own emotions and realize that their actions affect how other people feel?
2. Managing Their Moods.
Emotional intelligence includes controlling impulses and handling anger constructively. Let’s revisit that scenario with the combative client. If your nurse aides feel angry when caring for a disruptive client, can they manage that anger without taking it out on the client—even in subtle, non-verbal ways?
3. Motivating Themselves.
Having a high emotional IQ helps people set goals and work towards them with a positive attitude—even when faced with setbacks. Do your nursing assistants have an inner drive that keeps them inspired and determined to do their best, no matter what the challenge?
4. Empathy.
Can your nurse aides put themselves in someone else’s shoes—to see and feel the perspective of a client or a co-worker? For example, when it comes to a grouchy client, can they see past the angry surface to understand the fear and loneliness that is fueling the client’s hostility?
5. Managing relationships.
Working as a CNA is all about relationships—with clients, family members, co-workers and supervisors. How skilled are your nursing assistants at resolving conflict? Do they cooperate with their clinical team members? Can you count on experienced aides to share what they know with new employees?
According to author Daniel Goleman, the mastery of these five competencies results in enhanced emotional intelligence. You might be thinking, “So what?” Well, studies show that emotionally intelligent employees communicate more effectively, manage change better and have higher levels of productivity—all great qualities for anyone who works in health care.
In an ideal world, it would be great to have a system in place at every workplace to assess for emotional intelligence during the hiring process. However, it’s never too late to develop and improve the emotional intelligence of your current employees. You can find a number of resources—both in print and online—to assist you with EQ training. Or, you can avoid reinventing the wheel by sharing some of the following In the Know inservices with your nurse aides. Each one offers knowledge and skills that promote a high “EQ.”
Customer Service in Health Care (It’s free! Just fill out the registration form.)
Building Trust & Confidence with Clients
Dealing with Difficult & Combative People
Happy Teaching!
Linda
Are Your CNA Training Dollars Few and Far Between?
Has your budget for continuing education been cut or put on hold during this economic downturn? When money is tight, it’s typical for many organizations to look at staff training as “non-essential”. But, consider these results from a recent study of nearly 1200 companies, comparing the impact of recruiting externally with that of developing current employees.
- 75% of the 1,189 companies involved in the study felt that training their own staff was more beneficial to their business than recruiting people from outside.
- 50% of the companies discovered that training staff made them more likely to stay.
- 33% found that continuing education increased staff motivation, and
- Almost 50% saved money in the process.
In an article about the study, senior researcher, Emma Parry, said: “With training budgets often the first to go in a recession, this research demonstrates that ‘growing your own’ is an effective way for organizations to obtain the skills that they need while saving money.”
“I wasn’t surprised by the findings, but it is nice to have the evidence,” she said, adding that it makes sense that money spent on advertising, interviews and orientation programs can often be better spent on existing staff.
“It also helps staff retention because employees are more likely to stay if they are being developed. They are more committed and are more likely to go the extra mile if they feel the company is helping them to expand their skills,” she said.
Parry added that the problem was that companies often didn’t see the value of investing in training until it was too late. “Sometimes training is seen as nonessential, and when budgets get tight, companies start to look at what they can save money on. But to be honest, cutting training is a false economy.”
What’s the bottom line? Organizations must focus on nurturing the employees they have if they are to survive, grow and succeed. This is especially true for certified nursing assistants due to the increasing demand for their services. As the above study shows, effective training reduces staff turnover and absenteeism, improves motivation, increases productivity and helps boost customer satisfaction.
Don’t let a tight budget diminish the quality of your continuing education program. For starters, be sure to download our free inservice, Customer Service in Health Care. And, if you’d like help creating a cost-efficient CNA inservice plan, give us a call at 877-809-5515. We offer options suitable for every education budget!
Do You Get Measurable Results from Your CNA Inservices?
Continuing education should do more than fulfill annual inservice requirements. It should meet the learning needs of your CNAs and, in turn, have a measurable impact on client care. That’s what you get when you use inservices from In the Know. Consider these examples from just a few of our customers:
Renee F. at Fountainbleau Nursing Center: “We were having a large number of falls among our residents. We gave our CNAs the ‘Understanding Fall Risk Factors’ inservice to educate them on this issue. In the past month, our falls have been cut in half!”
Temika Y. at Generation Solutions: “After presenting the ‘Understanding Diabetes’ inservice to our home health aides, one aide recognized the signs of hypoglycemia and impending insulin shock in her client. She called EMS and literally saved the client’s life because of the information she learned from In the Know!”
Beth R. at Bellamy Fields Assisted Living: “Our CNAs had poor documentation skills–and were even using ‘White Out’! We purchased In the Know’s inservice, ‘Reporting & Documenting Client Care’, and made it a requirement for every nursing assistant. Their documentation has improved significantly!”
Wouldn’t you like to see measurable results like these from your inservice program? You can! Start developing top-notch CNAs today by creating your own library of In the Know inservices.
If your budget is tight, start with one key inservice that addresses a specific aspect of client care that you’d like to improve. We also offer special discounts when you buy three, six, nine or twelve inservices.
And, be sure to download our FREE inservice, Customer Service in Health Care. Many of our customers have noted a measurable increase in both employee and patient satisfaction after presenting this inservice to their nursing assistants. So, take action today and start seeing measurable results tomorrow!
Happy Teaching,
Linda Leekley BS, RN
