Honoring Nurses Week and the Impact on Patient Care
Happy Nurses Week! Whether providing bedside care, conducting research, striving to improve public health, or leading innovative initiatives, nurses are the backbone of healthcare systems across the world.
In my 20 years in pre-hospital, emergency department, and inpatient settings, I’ve seen firsthand how nurses make a profound impact on the patient experience. In this blog post, I’d like to commemorate Nurses Week by highlighting some of the ways we do this.
Critical Touch Points in Care
After attending the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) conference, I sat down with my colleague and fellow nurse Mike Rogozinski to talk about our key takeaways from the event.
While a good portion of the conference focused on patient care, I was amazed at how many topics pertained to patient experience (PX). Whether it was leveraging AI to relieve administrative burden, using technology to improve service recovery, or providing patients with educational resources so they could have more productive conversations with their clinicians, the role nurses play in PX was front and center. Think about that for a minute: nurses are not only responsible for patient care, but they are critical touch points in the care journey, playing a key part in not only patient care but perceived quality of care. That’s huge!
Health Equity
We all know nurses are the cornerstone for patient care and patient advocacy. Nurses work tirelessly to champion patient rights, equitable access to care, and healthcare reforms. They are innovators who are always driving advancements in nursing practice.
Case in point is this recent presentation by my colleague and fellow nurse Joe Sedlak and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles VP and Chief Transformation & Digital Officer Omkar Kulkarni. A key takeaway from this discussion is how technology is enhancing health equity at CHLA — a hospital where 40% of patients speak Spanish as their first language.
Education
Nurses serve communities as educators, counselors, and trusted allies in promoting the health and well-being of their patients. Think about who is at the bedside when patients are struggling emotionally, physically, or simply to understand their care plan. It’s the nurses.
I’d also like to recognize the important role of nurse educators — people like Dr. Lisiane Pruinelli, a pioneering nurse scientist and educator who sits at the intersection of patient care and AI. I recently spoke to her about her work in training up the next generation of nurses, many of whom are coming of age at a time of an unprecedented number of healthcare applications that rely on AI.
Service Recovery
We know that staff and nurse burnout is a major challenge for hospitals and health systems. Nurses don’t always get the accolades they deserve. They are much more likely to hear about the one negative comment or feedback from a patient rather than the 99 positives prior to that.
Instant positive feedback is not commonly embedded into the workflow for clinicians or patients. (Pst, Vital provides that capability!) Nurses not only provide quality care, but they are often expected to run interference on things like comfort, service, and food for their patients. It’s incredible watching my fellow nurses do this, but it’s even more inspiring when I read about our clients who are leveraging technology to make this part of their job that much easier.
Innovation
Nurses take on yet another role in patient experience: assessing and implementing technology to facilitate patient care. They have a unique perspective on what will make the biggest impact on the patient experience — the ideal combination to take into account things like service excellence and patient care to move the needle in experience.
As my colleague and fellow nurse Bethany Malievsky says in her excellent blog post:
“While the human touch is a hallmark attribute of helping professions, it does not need to be the only tool that hospitals rely on to make an impact. Industry pain points such as chronic understaffing, increased demand for services, and financial pressures cannot be solved by solely relying on compassionate healthcare workers. Health systems need a practical and innovative solution to drive growth, lessen staff burden, and streamline patient care.”
As we commemorate Nurses Week 2024, I encourage everyone to express gratitude to a nurse in your life. They are making immeasurable contributions to healthcare, humanity, and the communities they serve.