LGH’s 6th floor nurses feeling the love
As nice as it is to receive a compliment or hear kind words about the job you’re paid to do, it is not the reason people train to become nurses.
People join the nursing profession for many reasons, but at the core is the desire to help people and care for them in times of need.
Nurses on the 6th floor (East and West) at Lions Gate Hospital, however, are happy to be feeling the love from their patients as they work their way through the Releasing Time to Care (RT2C) program that they started rolling out last summer.
One of the key objectives of the program is to improve patient satisfaction and this starts with handing out discharge surveys to all patients to find. (Staff satisfaction is an equally key component of RT2C.)
Responses humbling
“The responses from the patients have been overwhelmingly positive and valuable,” says RN Emily Rolvink, who with RN Josh Gardiner are the RT2C ward leads on 6 East (General Surgery). “The nurses I work with are incredible and go above and beyond their call of duty in order to provide the best compassionate and skilled care possible. The responses we’ve received from the patients were quite humbling.”
Here’s a sampling of responses:
- Highly impressed with the professionalism empathy and level of care provided by nurses, not just with myself but with other patients as well. They deserve high praise for their patience and work ethic. This is an amazing hospital.
- I was well taken care of. The staff is wonderful and competent. I was amazed that the nurses show so much empathy considering the challenging work they do every day.
- All staff were consistently courteous, efficient and compassionate. LGH saved my life which I am forever grateful.
- I just wanted to thank all the staff for being professional. I am grateful for living in a community with such a great facility.
- The doctors and especially the nurses could not have been better. They make you comfortable and were there when needed. Great hospital with great staff. 10 out of 10.
Tackling CSAEs next
Esther Park, who recently stepped down as a RT2C ward lead on 6 West, agrees the patient discharge surveys are invaluable.
“They provide an avenue for the patients on our floor to voice their thoughts on the care they received,” says Esther. “In the day to day busyness of the ward, there are inevitable frustrations that are encountered. RT2C has provided not only patients but also staff on the ward to voice their thoughts and for staff to be constructive in their frustrations by figuring out ways to improve upon these areas.”
Improvements include decluttering the hallways by creating a designated wheelchair “parking area,” improving the shift handover process by reducing interruptions and streamlining the report tool, and creating a more organized and sensible layout of the nursing station.
“RT2C is also about heightening awareness and informing staff and patients alike about what they can do to decrease the incidence of care sensitive adverse events,” says Esther. “In the next season of RT2C for 6West, we will be looking at ways to go about doing this.”
(RN Nicole Lesage is now RT2C ward lead on 6W.)
Diligent and innovative
That’s how Suzanne Perri, Program Manager (Interim) 6 East and 6 West, describes the RT2C teams on the sixth floor.
“They have worked extremely diligently over the past year to engage staff and create opportunities to provide improved care for our patients,” says Suzanne.
“They have been innovative and creative in coming up with solutions to challenges such as storage and organization of equipment and supplies on the unit… There is a true commitment and passion for improving patient outcomes and quality and safety of the care delivered. I am grateful for the leadership and dedication of our 6th floor RT2C ward leads, to our team and to our patients and families.”
Left to right: 6 West RNs Esther Park, Nicole Lesage and Maeve Frost are seeing the benefits of the Releasing Time to Care program.