Patients Deserve Your Patience

I apologize for not posting in a while, but this new job is making me (happily) busy.  I'm feeling comfortable working in a hospital environment, talking to patients, and collaborating with other people that work at the hospital (charge nurses, RN's, dietitians, etc). I wanted to share some wisdom that was shared with me about working with "difficult" patients. If you ever held a job in customer service you are familiar with the following phrase: the customer is always right.  They may be called patients in a hospital, but they are also considered customers. They are paying the hospital for healthcare/treatment, which includes the proper nutrition found in their meals.

When doing menu selections with patients at our hospital, it can be more similar to a restaurant selection than typical hospital food. The patients are given as many options that fit into their diet plan as possible. Sometimes the occasional patient will become very particular or picky about what they ordered, similar to a customer one might serve at a restaurant. Sometimes the occasional patient is difficult. Sometimes the occasional patient will be angry at you for something you don't deserve. Sometimes the occasional patient is a perfect storm of picky, particular, difficult, and angry.  Still, the patient is not only always correct, but needs to be reassured and comforted. The number one goal for every patient is recovery and wellness.  To help put things in perspective, someone at work shared the following fantastic advice with me: a lot of patients in the hospital find themselves with nothing to control.  Their bodies might be failing them. Their doctor may have them on medication they don't understand. They may be under a doctor's orders they don't want to follow. However, they do control their food choice. Some patients may take their food orders more seriously than others because it is the only thing left that they can control.  This means when someone asks you for 5 Splenda packets or gravy on the side or a completely new order you apologize, take a deep breath, keep smiling, and admit you're wrong even if you know you're not.  You need to be able to leave the room knowing the patient is satisfied  with their meal choices and not angry at you or the menu.

Our goal as nutrition employees at the hospital is to encourage the intake of adequate foods to get patients on the road to recovery. So the patient is always right.  A happy patient will be happy to see their meal when it arrives.  Meal satisfaction leads to adequate energy intake.  Adequate energy intake helps recovery.  Recovery puts the patient back into optimal health.  The patient is always right.  Simple as that.