Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Did you know that first year nurses experience the highest turnover of any group?
[00:00:07] Speaker B: That reality is staggering, but it also
[00:00:10] Speaker A: tells us something important.
You are not alone and your growth matters.
Welcome to the All One Nurse Podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul through real nursing stories and nursing conversations.
Here, our mission is simple, to get back to the human side of healthcare.
I'm your host, nurse Chanel Tompkins, and I'm also your mentor and nurse educator. And this space was created just for you to breathe, to learn, to grow, and most importantly, feel supported no matter where you are in your nursing journey.
So take a deep breath and let's step into your next breakthrough.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Hey, friend. Welcome back to the All On Nurse Podcast. I'm so glad that you are here with me today.
And whether you are, whether you're a brand new nurse, a aspiring nurse, or deep into your career, this community is where your confidence, faith and clinical judgment grows. And today we're stepping into episode two of season one five and it's just you and me. No guest or panel for now, just a real conversation about something that shapes every patient interaction.
Customer service in healthcare.
Now, when we hear customer service, we often think about drive throughs or retail counters. But in nursing, good customer service is good patient care. And today I wanna unpack three simple but powerful, powerful principles. One, the power of hello.
Two, the power of presence. And three, the power of intentionality. Now, if you're new here, go ahead and click that subscribe button and share this episode with a friend because they do not want to miss this.
Now, diving right in, number one, the power of hello. Imagine being in a hospital. You're sick, you're vulnerable, somebody told you to take off all your clothes, put on this gown with no undergarments, and now you have everyone coming into your room that you don't even know whether it is the nurse, the nursing assistant.
Then you have the attending, the consultant physicians, and don't mention the therapist. You have your occupational therapist, your respiratory therapist, your physical therapist, speech therapist, and then there's the caseworker, the social worker, the diet.
And don't forget, you got dietary that has to bring your meal tray every day at every meal time.
So there's a lot of people coming inside your room in a space that the door doesn't even lock, as the list just goes on.
So what can we do to provide good customer service?
A simple knock, a warm hello and a clear introduction can change everything. When you enter a patient's room, remember to Knock, introduce yourself, tell them your role in what you plan to do, and thank them for allowing you to take care of them. And ask what they need or are hoping for for today.
And offer some small comforts when appropriate. Like, I'm grabbing a coffee, would you like some water? Or would you like a cup of coffee? Especially if you're a day shifter.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: Right?
[00:03:55] Speaker B: And what does this do for your patient? It helps to decrease anxiety. It helps to build trust and restore dignity. And then while we're at it, be mindful that verbal communication is very important, but your nonverbal communication matters even more.
So be sure to use open posture, eye contact, a genuine smile, because it all speaks louder than the badge and the cue scrubs that you're wearing.
And believe it or not, this also works well with your peers. And you can check out my episode on Nurse Converse, which is presented by Nurse.org where I kind of talk about the power of hello. Hello. The power of hello. Through five tips for Introverted nurses in the workplace.
Again, you can find that on Nurse Converse, Season one of Nurse Converse.
Now let's dive right into number two, the power of presence. You know that feeling when you drive home and you really don't even remember how you got there?
It's like being in autopilot because you've done it so many times before. It's where your body is present, but your mind is somewhere else.
You get it.
Well, we do the same thing in nursing too, especially when we have a busy shift. And I know you're like Chanel girl, what shift isn't busy? But I want you to remember this. When you cross that door frame, be fully present with that patient in that room.
Not thinking about the next task, the next room, or the next call light. Just think about being in that room with that patient. Because two minutes of true presence is more than 10 minutes of distracted or rushed care.
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Presence communicates care.
Presence strengthens your assessment skills. And presence helps you catch those subtle changes early because you've built a baseline. And what I mean by that is when you go in and you're with that patient, don't forget to do your head to toe assessments. And when you've done enough head to toe assessments, your intuition sharpens and you can feel when something is off.
Head to toe assessments is a non negotiable for me and it should be a non negotiable for you as a nurse. And always carry your stethosco. I Cannot say that enough.
Having a baseline on your patient and showing your patient just how much you care, it's like it matters. Just imagine you even in a doctor's visit, when we go to the doctor and they only come in to talk to us, prescribe us medicine, and they don't listen to our lungs or give us a hug for the copay we're about to pay at this checkout. It makes us feel some type of way. And so just be mindful. Like there is something about touch as well when it comes to your patients. And we love for someone to it makes them feel like, okay, they care about me. So be mindful to do those head to toe assessments because it will help having a baseline on your patient as you take care of them throughout the day.
Now, number three, the power of presence. And I almost named this powerful point the power of anticipation. Because that's really intentionality. Looks like in practice, when you anticipate your patient's needs, you stop feeling like you're constantly having to catch up. For example, if your patient comes in for pneumonia, but they haven't had a bowel movement in three days, their urine is odorous and they are incontinent and they're barely eating, your clinical judgment should kick in long before the provider rounds. And that's intentionality, that's anticipation.
And of course, that is nursing.
That is nurse driven care based off your baseline of that patient's overall assessment and presentation. And so everything you are learning or have learned in nursing school, the care plans, the mind maps and the prioritization, it starts to make sense when you apply it with intention.
And yes, even the busiest assignment can be navigated with strategy. Nurses do it every day. I did it. And you will too.
And if you don't do it yet, hey, come join me. Let's get connected in a deeper dive with these topics because I'd love to hear from you inside the All One Nurse Private Facebook community. Because it's a space created for listeners just like you, aspiring nurses, nursing students, new grads, and early career nurses. Because your faith, your confidence and your knowledge grows here. And when you join the All1Nurse community, introduce yourself, share what you hope to gain from the community.
And you'll also find weekly devotions on Mondays and a link to meet with me and other members every Thursday. It's free. We call it the weekly meetup where you're covering your wins, your barriers, and we're sharing some practical advice, tips and words of encouragement, and of course, prayer. We always end the session with prayer so that you can run on and see what the end is going to be. And if this episode blessed you, be sure to again share it with a friend or a colleague or a classmate and invite them into the all one nurse space.
And don't forget to subscribe, even here on your favorite podcasting platform. And leave a five star review so that other nurses can discover this community too. And just like that, I didn't want to hold you long. We're at the end of episode two. I'm glad that you came. And be sure to check out episode one with Ms. Darlene Bell. She dives into stress, boundaries and having a beautiful life in nursing, so check that out as well.
Now, until next time, let your light shine. Bye.
