What Really Makes Patients Satisfied

One of the top priorities we have as nurses is to keep the patient satisfied. Satisfied patients give positive feedback and great reviews that helps motivate us to do our jobs day in and day out. In this day and age, we realize how a bad review or feedback can quickly go viral on social media outlets, or how a negative experience survey can land us in the hotspot at work. Nobody wants this, believe me- I know. So what is it that makes the patient satisfied? Is it the glitzy waiting room and brand-new iPads at patient registration? Could it be the high-tech apparatus that is being used for their patient care? Or maybe even the food they are being served as an inpatient?

Funnily enough, no. Those things actually have little to do with patient satisfaction. One of the top things that patients hope for in their healthcare experience is empathy, followed by communication. Patients want to know that we understand their pain and what they are going through. They want to feel a connection with the individual who is caring for them, someone they feel like they can trust. Our job as nurses is to (also) do just that! In a study done of 112 new patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Orthopedic Surgery, it was discovered that 65% of patient satisfaction was directly attributed to the physician’s empathy. As we take care of the physical needs of the patient, we should also focus on the emotional needs of the patient. Yes, we ourselves are so tired from the stress of our workday, but we put those feelings aside patient after patient, to ensure that they are receiving the best of us.

Hospitalized patients and their family members are experiencing a lot of anxiety. Through our communication, we will be able to alleviate some of the stress they are feeling. We can inform them of any tests they will have to go through and how long they should expect them to be, as well as how long they may have to wait before being taken to the tests. If we are ending our shift, informing them of who will be taking care of them next will cause them to feel more at ease with the transition. The simple act of just letting them be informed about what is going on will make a world of difference in their experience.

In various patient surveys, things such as wait times, waiting areas and ease to provide insurance were not nearly as important as being informed, the nurse’s attention to their needs and the overall respect for their privacy. As an example, a small factor that correlates with the patient’s satisfaction is ensuring eye to eye contact with them instead of having our eyes focused on computer screens. With most of our patient information systems being electronic nowadays, it can be easy to focus our attention on computer screens. We all need to make sure we are taking a moment or two for eye to eye contact with the patients. Face to face time is one of the most important aspects of human interaction.

Many of us nurses decided to work in this profession because we care. We want to bring good into this world and we want to make a difference. We knew that our profession was not the most glamorous one, but we knew the intense feeling of satisfaction we would feel at the end of a shift. Caring, showing compassion and having empathy for our patients can be so physically and mentally exhausting day after day, but we know that in order to satisfy our patients and allow them to have a positive healthcare experience, we must do just that.

We must not, however, forget that we need to care for ourselves and our mental sanity as well. Good laughs and some self-care moments will renew our mind and soul so we may provide the highest quality care to the patients we so adamantly fight for. Their satisfaction is our personal success at the end of the day. We need to make sure each patient receives the care that we would like to receive and share positive moments with them through uplifting attitudes, laughter and most of all, empathy.