Mark Williams, nursing operations manager at Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital, wears Geisinger’s uniform for registered nurses.
Patient engagement at Geisinger Health System isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky goal. It’s a daily reality, thanks to several initiatives aimed at making patients feel empowered. The organization’s method? Constantly assess patients’ expectations and make improvements when necessary.
Most recently, the physician-led, Magnet-designated Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania, surveyed 200 inpatients and 200 outpatients to assess how these individuals perceive the quality of care and professionalism of the nursing staff. The survey, authored by a committee of nurse leaders, nurse researchers, and bedside nurses, took place over several months starting at the end of 2014. Unit leaders identified appropriate participants, and the survey focused on the following topics:
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- Nursing attire. Could patients easily distinguish between RNs, LPNs, and nursing assistants based on their physical attire?
- Patient communications. How do patients prefer to be addressed by nursing staff? How do patients prefer nursing staff to introduce themselves?
- Patient/nursing relations. In what other ways can the organization enhance the relationship between nurses and the patients for whom they provide care?
One of the most drastic changes resulting from the survey was the implementation of a formal dress code for RNs. In January, RNs began wearing pewter gray and white scrub uniforms embroidered with the Geisinger logo and the designation “Registered Nurse.” The organization has since created similar dress codes for LPNs, patient care support — including nursing assistants and unit desk clerks — lab technicians, imaging technicians and others. Essentially, anyone who wears scrubs now wears a consistent uniform with a department-specific color.
“Every decision that we make in a healthcare institution needs to be centered and focused on the patient and their family,” said Crystal Muthler, Geisinger’s chief nursing officer and vice president of nursing. “Many times, patients don’t feel that they have a voice in their healthcare, and any way that we can give them a voice, it’s important that we do.”
Nursing staff engage also patients using a variety of other techniques, such as: whiteboards to convey caregivers’ names and care goals; hourly rounding to assess whether patients are comfortable throughout the day; and consistent leadership rounds to ensure patients’ needs are met during the entirety of their stay.
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“It’s our job to say, ‘How can we do it better? Can we change it?’” said Muthler.
Patient communication is a large focus area at Geisinger. When nursing shifts change, for example, caregivers discuss shift changes in front of the patient, involving him or her in the conversation. Caregivers also ask for each patient’s permission before entering the room or performing a test.
Muthler said patients have appreciated the ability to voice their opinions and that the organization has already started to see positive results reflected in their Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys.
“Our patient satisfaction scores have begun go to show the signs of all of this work that’s going on,” Muthler said. “But we still have work to do, and we still have to make sure that we hardwire it” into the organizational culture.
Photo: Geisinger Health System
