Five tips to enhance your patients’ experiences
By Ryan Chesterman, MPA, Service Experience & Wellness Coach
Maya Angelou said: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Patient experience is an important part of healthcare. In my role as the Service Experience & Wellness Coach for North American Partners in Anesthesia, I have the honor of working with clinicians across our organization to help them take their patients’ experiences to the next level.
Healthcare providers often have limited time with patients. That, coupled with a desire to provide not just quality care, but compassionate care, can prove challenging. What simple actions can you incorporate into your practice to make a lasting positive impression on your patients? Let’s break them down.
- Have an internal agenda
Especially in anesthesia, we often meet our patients for the first time just prior to a surgical procedure. When I connect with NAPA clinicians across our network, I’m coaching on skills for optimizing your introduction and making an immediate connection. How do you achieve this? A simple way to create the feeling of more time is to have an internal agenda ready before you meet with the patient: Know what you want and need to discuss. This approach means you can address all key points of the treatment plan and still allow your patient time to speak. Rushed patient interactions can leave patients feeling unheard and unimportant.
- Apply active listening
In today’s healthcare world, there is always a third presence in the room: a computer or another digital device. The device contains critical information about your patients’ medical history and treatment plan. While that device is important, don’t let it become a barrier to care. Focus on actively listening to your patients and avoid any urge to interrupt as your patients answer your questions. Always ask follow-up questions and then summarize what your patients say to ensure you have heard them completely.
- Ask for feedback
As clinicians, we focus on solving the issue at hand, whether that is reviewing a chart, gathering recent medical information, answering questions regarding an upcoming procedure, or evaluating current pain or other symptoms. As you engage with patients, also take the time to ask about their experience in the moment. Patients can provide insightful feedback and uncover opportunities for medical teams and facilities to improve. If you sincerely ask a patient, “How is everything going today?” or “Is there anything we could do better?” you often receive a genuine response. Let your patients know their feedback matters, and once you receive feedback, act upon it by sharing it with your team and leadership.
- Inspire a smile
As social beings, our body language and facial expressions can speak volumes. Between personal protective equipment (PPE), busy schedules, and limited time, it can be hard to let a smile shine through. However, you may find it helps ease a difficult situation and sets a positive tone. I started my career working at the bedside with patients who had suffered traumatic brain injuries. I tried to bring a smile to my patient’s face, knowing it might be the first time in days that he or she smiled. So, smile, find a personal connection, share something about yourself, bring in humor if appropriate, or connect in any other way that makes sense for you, for that specific day, and for that specific patient.
- Go that extra mile
Assess what your patient needs in the moment and find simple ways to make a difference. On my first emergency room visit with my toddler after the height of the pandemic, both my son and I were stressed. When the pediatrician entered the room in multiple layers of PPE and a face shield, my son became even more nervous. I was surprised when the doctor suddenly left the room and returned quickly with a smile drawn on her outer mask and a surgical glove blown up like a puppet with a face. While my 2-year-old was not exactly impressed, I recognized the extra mile that physician went to help calm our fears, and I truly appreciated the compassion she shared with us.
In your daily practice, look for those little ways you can make a positive difference in the experiences of your patients. Though simple, these five acts of compassionate care can provide tremendous benefit for your patients. And evidence shows that approaching each patient encounter with kindness can be good for caregivers, too!
Ryan Chesterman, MPA, is the Service Experience & Wellness Coach for North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA). In this unique role, he is responsible for improving clinical interactions with patients and driving patient engagement at NAPA’s 500+ clinical sites, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and office-based practices. Ryan is passionate about helping clinical teams and clinicians hone their communication skills. He frequently lectures and publishes about compassion and the patient experience.