Doctors are only as good as their nurses. Yeah, right, you would say. What’s a good doctor and how do you make one? I highly encourage you to read this article from the BMJ. We all know that a nurse can make or break you. I have been blessed to have worked with some of the best nurses wherever I have been. Even as a clerk in the Philippines, an intern and physician in India or a volunteer in the US, I have always encountered wonderful nurses.
It’s been a while since my last post. As you can see I have been traveling a fair bit. Then work got in the way. A few books as well. 🙂 Today I’m talking about good nurses.
We are only as good as the nurses we work with. A good nurse can foresee issues before they arise, they can bring to your notice problems before anyone else sees them and fix them for you on many occasions.
They can be your greatest strength and advocate. You nurses will be your biggest defender and smoothen things out for your patients. They are the angels who spend the most time with your patients.
How Do We Get Good Nurses?
Hire the Right People
Hire the good ones. I remember one of my employers spent six months interviewing nurses. We were short-staffed but they wanted to pick the right one. You pick one problematic nurse and the entire chain goes kaput. And even then, they are usually problematic because they aren’t being heard.
Even after addressing their concerns, if you encounter someone who’s maligning their colleagues, talking down to patients, second-guessing all of the doctors decisions, talking behind their back, you need to let them go. In medicine it’s not doctor versus nurse. It shouldn’t be. It is doctor and nurse versus the problem.
Listen To Them
Most of the nurses are bringing their concerns to you. Some of them have years of experience and they can be a second pair of eyes. Most of them don’t mind their suggestions being over-ruled. They just want their doctors to register their concerns, weigh the options and act or don’t act.
Listen to what they are saying. Often their concerns might seem small but are important to the patients. Address their issues right away.
Don’t Throw Them Under The Bus
Mistakes happen. Everyone makes mistakes. Even good nurses. Don’t throw them under the bus for a mistake. Analyze what went wrong and help them. Show them that accepting responsibility won’t cost them so they don’t play the blame game.
Recognize Their Efforts
I see in many hospitals, they have some sort of board or newsletter where a nurse is recognized for a months with a picture and rose. It always make me laugh. Then what?
Give good nurses a bonus, recognize their efforts with a raise or a coupon for dinner or a cash card for month’s worth of groceries. Take them for a retreat.
In banking, hotels, IT; they tie everything to an incentive and that’s what drives people. In medicine, its sheer humanity and compassion, that makes nurses do their job every day.
Recognize the ones that stay late to cover a shift, or the ones that make all those appointment calls just so that no one misses their date with the doctor, or the one that comes in early to prepare the OPD so you can start right away.
It doesn’t cost much to give them something other than just a card and thankyou.
Keep Them Happy
Do they have to work overtime? Are they happy with the work conditions? Do they get their breaks? Are they working with less staff? What can you do to make sure they are growing professionally? Keep them happy.
Your Nurse Is Indispensable
I can’t imagine working without one. True there are some horror stories of bad ones. There are some ego-tripping ones and some that are out for more power. That’s not the majority of them. I have been blessed with amazing nurses and I am only as good as the nurses I work with.
How do nurses make your life better and how do they make you better? What do you do to ensure you have a good nurses team? Let me know.