Patients at any healthcare facility spend only a fraction of their day with their attending doctor. For the remainder of their day, they rest under the care of nurses, making nurses ultimately responsible for their care, safety, and satisfaction.
Due to the time they spend caring for patients, they are an indispensable aspect of the patient care experience.
From administering meds and maintaining effective communication to taking care of their patient’s daily hygiene, nurses are responsible for delivering medical and non-medical care to their patients.
However, delivering high-quality patient care experiences requires more than just the basics of nursing, as it depends entirely on the nurse’s skill.
Today, we have compiled a list of five ways you can improve patient care quality.
Five ways to improve your patient care experience
1. Further your education
Learning doesn’t end once you graduate, especially for medical practitioners; education should be a lifelong process since the healthcare industry is rapidly evolving, be it technologically or in terms of the latest research and treatment plans.
Keeping up with the latest medicinal research and treatment methods will allow you to provide a high-quality care experience to your patients based on evidence-based practices.
RNs and other nursing staff can guarantee patient satisfaction with the proper tools, training, and procedures. Advanced education is key to growth as a nurse as it allows you to keep up with the changing industry dynamics. Taking the time to further your education can open up many high-paying nursing employment opportunities for you.
However, being busybodies, many nurses can’t commit to full-time on-campus programs. Thankfully, there are many MSN-NP online courses you can pursue with a flexible schedule.
An advanced degree offers specialized knowledge and clinical experience indispensable for delivering evidence-based care as an ANP to ensure patient satisfaction.
2. Develop effective communication skills
No matter how much effort you put in to nurse your patient back to health, the patient is ultimately responsible for recovery.
Many nurses don’t realize something is wrong until it’s too late, as the patient is unaware of the telltale signs of common complications.
Effective communication can help you involve your patients in recovery by informing them of all the cues and indicators of typical complications. Furthermore, don’t forget to ask how they feel whenever you drop by.
Many patients like to be involved in their treatment and seek details from their doctors regarding their condition, treatment plan, and positive health outcomes to cooperate with their treatment plan.
According to a study, patients identified a calm demeanor, positive outlook, prioritizing patient’s needs, and empathizing as essential qualities that every competent nursing staff should possess.
Communicating effectively with the patients is critical to fulfilling patient expectations. Another study suggested that building good rapport should be accompanied by a more positive attitude toward patients to ensure a better care experience.
Management can assign experienced nursing staff members as mentors for the newcomers to help them work on their communication skills.
Some nurses can also benefit from guides on patient introductions and complaints. Plus, patients can also benefit from educational resources such as brochures, video guides, and even online learning links provided by the nurses.
3. Deliver personalized care
An individualized approach to patient care means rather than merely treating the physical symptoms; the treatment plan should also offer emotional care support tailored to the patient’s specific needs.
By delivering quality care according to a personalized treatment plan, you ensure a customized treatment plan according to the patient’s needs and that the treatment plan fits right into the patient’s current healthcare journey rather than starting anew.
Getting to know your patients on a more personal level by learning their names, personalities, and backgrounds will help you better grasp their self-care aspirations, the obstacles they face, and the people who are there to help them.
When providing excellent care, nurses must never lose sight of their patients’ individuality and treat them with the utmost dignity and kindness.
Successful nurses retain a professional demeanor, take patient confidentiality very seriously, and prioritize the needs of their patients over everything else.
4. Teamwork drives patient satisfaction
According to a report, working in a collaborative environment to deliver care can positively impact patient satisfaction.
The nursing staff usually addresses patients’ concerns, inquiries, and complaints.
Having efficient processes to facilitate communication amongst all nursing staff members can enable nurses to more easily exchange patient information and collaborate actively to deliver high-quality care.
It is also possible that the nursing staff’s leadership would want to discover a solution to improve their team relations. People that know each other well are more willing to help, assist, and seek support from other team members.
Although it might be difficult for personnel to create one-on-one connections in a hectic healthcare setting, management can still promote team-building via activities like weekly meetings.
5. Empathize with your patients
Nursing is a challenging profession. Taking care of patients may be draining on your physical and emotional well-being.
Even the best days of patient care can be challenging if you can’t provide compassion, understanding, and empowerment to your patients.
Nursing requires a high degree of empathy while also requiring nurses to maintain strict professional boundaries.
Patients who get compassionate care are treated as distinct individuals valued and respected by their healthcare providers.
Expressing empathy at its core is to care for your patient’s feelings. And strictly by the definition of nursing, this is never the responsibility of a nurse.
However, empathizing with your patients allows you to deliver a better care experience, as when you listen with an open ear, they feel valued and appreciated.
Furthermore, when patients feel valued, they are likely to place more trust in your care as they believe you genuinely have their best interests at heart and completely follow the treatment plan you devise for them.
Hence, Empathy is a powerful tool for improving the patient care experience.
Final thoughts
Nurses play a critical role in ensuring patients’ positive care experience. It takes a lot of work and dedication on the part of nurses to guarantee that their patients are completely satisfied and that their safety always comes first.
As a nurse, your ultimate goal is to provide the best possible care to your patients. As a result, you must be conscious of the consequences of your actions.
It’s okay to come across a grumpy patient occasionally; you can treat them as a challenge and use them as a motivation to improve your performance and focus on your goals.
Keeping these suggestions in mind can help improve the quality of patient treatment and customer satisfaction.
