Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC

Nurses continue to dominate the top honor (82% of very high/high) of trusted professions according to a 2017 Gallup poll.

The  question asked was: “How would you rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different fields — very high, high, average, low or very low?” By comparison, doctors’ ethics and honesty was rated at 65%, followed by pharmacists at 62%.

In case you are interested, Congress fell at 11%, just above car salespeople at 10%. The lowest were lobbyists at 8%.

So, you awesome nurses, let’s not let the public down. We should always look inward at the customer service we are offering. Don’t forget we are there to “care” as well as care for our patients/residents.

Remember our “Dos and Don’ts.”

Don’t say:

•  “No”

•  “Not my patient/assignment.”

•  “Your aide will come.”

•  “It’s too difficult.”

•  “It’s too much trouble.”

•  “I don’t know.”

Do say:

•  “Yes”

•  “I can do that.”

•  “I’ll be back to check on you.”

•  “How was your first day?”

•  “Let me check on that for you.”

•  “Can I do anything else for you before I leave the room?”

Remember that customers are the most important people in any organization; in fact, they are the lifeblood of our organization. We are dependent on them, even if they are physically dependent on us.

Customers are never “interruptions” to our work — they are the purpose of it. Our customers are vulnerable patients/residents with wants and needs, and it truly is our job to fill those.

Our customers are deserving of having their care needs met, while we are being courteous and attentive.

So the next time you feel like pulling out your hair if “just one more person puts on that call light,” remember that you’re No. 1.

Take a big breath of compassion and let’s make sure we stay on top.

Just keeping it real,

Nurse Jackie

The Real Nurse Jackie is written by Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC, an APEX Award of Excellence winner for Blog Writing. Vance is a real life long-term care nurse. A nationally respected nurse educator and past national LTC Nurse Administrator of the Year, she also is an accomplished stand-up comedienne. She has not starred in her own national television series — yet. The opinions supplied here are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer or her professional affiliates.