The Patient Experience and Patient Satisfaction Scores Are Not Solely the Nurse’s Responsibility 

As nurses, we will frequently hear the phrase ‘patient experience’ being discussed. Facilities often talk about the patient experience they want their patients to have and how nurses can improve patient satisfaction scores. It is a good thing to remember that even though nurses play a critical part in the patient experience, it is not solely the nurse’s responsibility.

Have you ever thought about what the patient experience really means to you? Take a minute to think about what the patient experience means to you as a nurse. Take another minute to realize that the patient experience and your facility’s patient satisfaction scores are not solely your responsibility.

Who Plays a Role in the Patient Experience?

Imagine this scenario: You have a patient that is calling to make an appointment and they are left on hold for over 15 minutes. Then, the representative they speak with is curt and unfriendly or otherwise not very helpful. The patient may form a bad interpretation or opinion of the facility even with that first phone call, before they ever come in for treatment! The front desk, secretaries, and office staff all play a role in the patient experience.

Upon their arrival for their appointment, the appearance of the healthcare facility will play a role in the patient’s experience. If maintenance or housekeeping is not keeping the facility clean and safe it can give the facility a poor appearance, which patients will notice right away and could even sustain injury from. Keeping the facility clean, maintained, safe, and in good working order is not the sole responsibility of the nurse but it does play have an effect on the overall patient experience.

Having good medical assistants, nursing assistants, nursing care techs, phlebotomists, dietary workers, therapists, and social workers is essential for a good patient experience. In some cases, these support staff members spend more

time with the patient than the nurse or physician does. Having good support staff can make or break the patient experience.

Physicians play a large role in the patient experience. If the physician does not take the time to listen to the patients, answer their questions thoroughly, perform a good assessment, communicate well, and write the needed orders in a timely manner then it sets up the rest of the staff for failure. Nurses and support staff follow physician orders, so if the physician does a poor job then it is unlikely that the rest of the staff will be able to recover the patient’s experience from there on.

Even though they may not have physical contact with the patient, management and administration play a huge role in the patient experience and are not to be forgotten about. Part of their job is to make sure that they have an adequate amount of quality staff to meet the needs of the number of patients in the facility. They also need to make sure that they are hiring, retaining, and keeping good, quality staff.

A Reminder for the Nurse

Creating a good patient experience is not just the nurse’s responsibility. Nursing is a large part of the patient experience but there are many other people and factors that affect it. The nurse can only control so much and they have to work with the resources they have. There are many variables that are out of the nurse’s control. The patient experience does not just fall on the nurse’s shoulders. It is impacted by every single person the patient comes in contact with in the facility, from the cleaning staff to the administrators. Next time you are having a difficult workday, remember that the patient experience and patient satisfaction scores are not solely the nurse’s responsibility.