The biggest barrier between what employees bring to the patient experience and what patients actually perceive is the employee’s unwillingness or inability to see him or herself the way they truly are. They are convinced that their behavior is not part of the solution. So when satisfaction data is put in front of them, they immediately go to “that’s not me!” The result is unchanged scores and administrators/managers scratching their heads.

Employees are more comfortable latching onto tasks because they can check them off and feel they are doing their part, thus perpetuating self-deflection. This prevents them from looking within themselves to understand why they are not, connecting with patients successfully.

With these lessons staff will begin to grow in their understanding of their own emotional intelligence and then apply their own personal response to the gap between their previous behavior and what the patient needs.

• Emotional Self-Awareness

  This lesson will help employees identify how their emotions such as fear and frustration can impede their relationships with patients unless addressed.

• Emotional Triggers

  Identifying your emotional triggers allows you to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, and follow through on commitments.

• Empathy

  Illustrating that empathy is about being present in the moment not just with your head, but also with your heart.

• How Do You Show Up?

  Are you punching in but checking out? Focusing on being present and engaged each day so that patient care is not impacted.

• Mindfulness

  Developing skills for staff who feel scattered, overloaded or about to quit.

There are innumerable processes devised by healthcare to systematize patient care. But in all these processes and initiatives, healthcare has lost sight of the fact that human interaction must be the highest priority. In asking patients what is most important to them, our research has found that patients most prize Good Care/Treatment, Being Informed, Attentiveness, and Getting Better. Therefore, the answer to poor scores must be a culture shift in which staff learns how to intentionally and consistently build a relationship with patients. The solution has to be more about how they connect, and not a reliance on tasks.

Managing for Positive Results lessons help employees apply their newfound understanding of emotional intelligence to the interactions that really matter most to patients. They will ask employees and managers to address some tough questions about what they are currently doing and develop strategies that are guaranteed to effectively impact patient perception.

• Attentiveness

  Paying close attention and anticipating the needs of patients meets a critical patient desire.

• Bedside Shift Report

  Using humor to show how patients view the Bedside Shift Report.

• Caring for Patients Outside the Box

  Emphasizing the importance of skillfully managing the conflict or discomfort surrounding patients who are perceived to be “different.”

• Conflict with Patients

  Focusing on strategies for managing conflict rather than getting caught up in conflict with patients.

• Handling Stressful Situations

  Exploring how stressful patient situations can be handled so that they don’t escalate to other patients and staff.

• Responding with Touch (Responsiveness)

  Providing strategies for addressing the patient’s perception of staff reaction time.

• Team Accountability

  Showing how the patient’s experience is strengthened when teams hold their members accountable.

• Teamwork

  Demonstrating the effects of good teamwork and its impact on quality patient care.

What does it take to cause a patient to write or say good things about their care? Are patients looking for adherence to patient satisfaction questions or seeking verification that staff strictly follows AIDET™? Of course not. They want to be treated with respect and get out without anything going wrong.

These lessons focus on how staff can create a relationship with patients on a level that is personal and respectful. Staff will learn how to neutralize negative perceptions, lay the groundwork for the kind of experience patient’s desire, and generate an increasing number of positive impressions through word of mouth and social media.

• It’s the Patient’s House

  Encouraging staff to see the patient’s room through the patient’s eyes.

• Focus on the Family

  Creating awareness of family member perceptions and there influence on survey results and on future hospital usage.

• The Courage to Speak Up for the Patient

  Trusting your instincts and having the courage to speak up for your patient despite the prospect of difficult conversations with physicians and colleagues.

• Reformulating the Patient’s Perception

  Patient “baggage” – from past experiences to rumors – can be reversed beginning with the simple question, “Have you been with us before?”

• Mastering Small Talk

  Developing small talk as a way to initiate dialogue with a patient and to get at the heart of who the patient is as a person.

• What Patients Are Comparing You To

  Understanding that patients see their care as a sum total of all their interactions.

• You Know Why I’m Here, But Do You Know Who I Am?

  One of the quickest and most reliable ways to trigger patient engagement is to simply ask patients, “What did you do for a living?”