GET THEM THE DAMN SODA

There's a new trend in hospitals across the nation. The trend is a goal of meeting and exceeding patient (and family's) expectations. (There are other trends regarding payment/reimbursement issues and hospitals not getting paid for hospital acquired infections/pressure ulcers/etc.- but I'm not discussing that today) The problem lies within the perception of what that mentality means to some nurses. There are many nurses who resent this pendulum swing into more "customer focused" type of care.. nurses who feel that they are above taking dinner trays away or getting a cup of ice water because "I didn't go to school for X amount of years so I can wait on people hand and foot." Nurses who are hell bent on being the one in charge and telling the patient to do things because they are In Charge and You Will do What I Say.

Nurses are highly trained professionals with an enormous amount of skills and who need to be able to think critically, have a solid knowledge base, be able to delegate as well as coordinate care from many different disciplines. It takes time to master all of that and it's something to be proud of for sure, but once you start thinking all those things make you "better than" having to do little things for your patient too, I have one thing to say: Get over yourself.

Your patients are scared. Maybe from lack of knowledge, maybe because they saw family members die in the hospital, maybe because of a fear of the unknown-- there's a million things that can scare them. Your patients are frustrated. 10 Drs tell them 10 different things and they don't understand 50% of what the Drs are saying because the patient is so intimidated. Their health is in jeopardy, they are facing their own mortality in a lot of cases... and some nurses will get upset because they asked for a diet soda. REALLY? Well, let me tell you what I do. I get them their damn soda and I ask their family members if I can get them something while I am in there. It's the least I can do. Look at the big picture. You are healthy, perfectly capable, and compared to the patients you are caring for, you are in a pretty good place... GET THEM THE DAMN SODA.

If you have a diabetic looking for laffy taffy, yes, you can say no and explain to them why you can't give them candy because it will affect their health badly, but if they want, you can get them sugar free yogurt, ice cream, etc. But I will tell you something else.. if I have a 96 year old man on a cardiac diet who hasn't been eating because he doesn't like the food and his son brought him in a doughnut? You bet your ass I'm going to let him have the doughnut. He's 96, for christ's sake, let the man have his damn doughnut! I believe that there's a lot to be said for life's little pleasures boosting a patient's morale and give them something worth living for.

I can go on and on with examples but my general rule of thumb is this when a patient asks for something, "Will it really hurt? If so, what's a better alternative to offer? If it will benefit them by making them more comfortable (pillow, blanket, water), just GET it- if at all possible, right away. A patient won't remember if you gave them their lopressor at 2:13pm but they will definitely remember if someone walked by their room and thought they looked cold with just a sheet on and put a blanket on them... that reminds me of one of my favorite things about working overnights. When all my patients are asleep and I am peeking into their rooms I always think to myself that they were someone's baby at some point and how lucky I am to be able to be able to watch over them like someone once did, sometimes almost 100 years ago. Nurses need to remember it's a privilege to be able to care for patients, you are not doing them a favor, you are simply doing your job- and if you are doing it well you are taking care of their body and their emotional well being. THAT is the heart of nursing.