Patient, staff and physician satisfaction is essential to a happy, well-functioning ambulatory surgery center. Linda Deeming, RN, MBA/HCM, CNOR, facility administrator of Longmont (Colo.) Surgery Center, discusses six ways to gather and respond to feedback from every person that steps through your doors.
1. Immediately establish that you encourage feedback, not negativity. Even before she hires someone, Ms. Deeming looks for evidence that a potential employee will contribute positive feedback, not negative gossip. "Before somebody is hired, I ask situational questions to find out how and why they would approach a problem," she says. She looks for people who treat problems appropriately by approaching the administrator or the involved party in private and discussing the issue rationally — rather than complaining for weeks and creating a negative atmosphere at the center. She says while all employees will need to blow off steam sometimes, she does not tolerate constant griping or grudge-holding.
When you first hire employees, explain that you understand there will be hard days when they feel overwhelmed, frustrated or confused. Tell them you want to know about those difficulties and explain the best way to share that information.
2. Compare survey results to determine how one area affects another. Most surgery centers distribute patient satisfaction surveys upon discharge and distribute employee and physician satisfaction surveys once or twice a year. Make sure to compare the results of each survey to determine how one area affects another, Ms. Deeming says. "I don't believe you can work on just patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction or staff satisfaction," she says. "They all weave together. If you have unhappy staff, you're going to end up with unhappy patients."
For example, your physicians may tell you that they are dissatisfied with slow turnover times that make the ASC less efficient. As a result, your staff may say that physicians are grumpy and disrespectful, and your patients may say that staff and physicians seem overwhelmed and annoyed with each other. In this case, the problem with turnover can easily affect several areas of satisfaction in your ASC.
3. Listen, investigate, respond and review. There are four steps to handling an employee, patient or physician with a complaint, Ms. Deeming says. First, listen to the issue and try to understand the person's perspective. Next, investigate the problem and use your own judgment to determine the "true" facts. Once you have seen the reality of the issue for yourself, try not to postpone your response to a complaint, Ms. Deeming says. Sometimes the dissatisfied person will need some time to calm down, but more often, the issue can be addressed immediately. "We really try to take care of things as they come up," she says.
Addressing problems quickly is essential whether the issue stems from a physician, patient or employee complaint. With patients, you may simply have to apologize or let them know that their complaint is valid. "Sometimes you can come up with something that could be fixed or done better," she says. With employees or physicians, you can sit down with the affected parties and hash out a solution immediately so that ill will does not fester. Finally, review the outcome of your response. Is the new process working, and did the end result equal the desired response? Reviewing the outcome will give you perspective on how to handle similar issues in the future.
4. Let people talk through their problems. Sometimes the problem introduced by a staff member, physician or patient will not be the actual issue. For example, a physician may say they have a problem with a particular staff member, but if you let them talk through the issue, they may realize that the real problem was a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Staff members who come off as cold or curt may not realize they are taking out their frustration about a problem outside of the ASC at work.
When an employee, patient or physician is upset, invite them into your office to talk about the issue. More often than not, their initial complaint will lead to a list of small frustrations that have been building up over time. Let them know you are committed to solving the problem and that you can address the issues one by one to improve their work experience.
5. Suggest solutions rather than punishments. In a tight-knit surgery center, many of the problems that arise may concern relationships between physicians and staff members or the employees themselves. If a physician or a group of employees raises concern about the work or attitude of another employee, ask the criticized employee about possible solutions. In one case, Ms. Deeming had to talk to a nurse who had not been fulfilling her role properly. Before she initiated the conversation, she made sure to observe the nurse's work herself to determine whether the criticism was founded. When she saw that it was, she asked the nurse how they could work together to fix the issue. She suggested that the nurse spend an extra two hours every day with Ms. Deeming for a few weeks to work on her areas of difficulty. "The nurse did admit that she was having struggles, and she felt she couldn't' ask anyone for help," Ms. Deeming says. While the nurse ended up leaving the facility, she was glad that Ms. Deeming approached the situation with empathy rather than accusation.
6. Accept that you can't please everyone. Although administrators can resolve most issues that come up in a surgery center, there will always be a few issues that are out of your control or unable to be accommodated. "When that happens, be willing to rest in the fact that you've done the best with what you have and go from there," Ms. Deeming says. If you have listened, investigated, responded and reviewed the outcome, you should feel comfortable letting the issue rest.
Read more about running a successful surgery center:
-10 Traits of Highly Successful Surgery Center Administrators
-6 Key Concerns for Surgery Centers When Selecting New Cases
-5 Ways to Build a Great Hospital/ASC Joint Venture
1. Immediately establish that you encourage feedback, not negativity. Even before she hires someone, Ms. Deeming looks for evidence that a potential employee will contribute positive feedback, not negative gossip. "Before somebody is hired, I ask situational questions to find out how and why they would approach a problem," she says. She looks for people who treat problems appropriately by approaching the administrator or the involved party in private and discussing the issue rationally — rather than complaining for weeks and creating a negative atmosphere at the center. She says while all employees will need to blow off steam sometimes, she does not tolerate constant griping or grudge-holding.
When you first hire employees, explain that you understand there will be hard days when they feel overwhelmed, frustrated or confused. Tell them you want to know about those difficulties and explain the best way to share that information.
2. Compare survey results to determine how one area affects another. Most surgery centers distribute patient satisfaction surveys upon discharge and distribute employee and physician satisfaction surveys once or twice a year. Make sure to compare the results of each survey to determine how one area affects another, Ms. Deeming says. "I don't believe you can work on just patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction or staff satisfaction," she says. "They all weave together. If you have unhappy staff, you're going to end up with unhappy patients."
For example, your physicians may tell you that they are dissatisfied with slow turnover times that make the ASC less efficient. As a result, your staff may say that physicians are grumpy and disrespectful, and your patients may say that staff and physicians seem overwhelmed and annoyed with each other. In this case, the problem with turnover can easily affect several areas of satisfaction in your ASC.
3. Listen, investigate, respond and review. There are four steps to handling an employee, patient or physician with a complaint, Ms. Deeming says. First, listen to the issue and try to understand the person's perspective. Next, investigate the problem and use your own judgment to determine the "true" facts. Once you have seen the reality of the issue for yourself, try not to postpone your response to a complaint, Ms. Deeming says. Sometimes the dissatisfied person will need some time to calm down, but more often, the issue can be addressed immediately. "We really try to take care of things as they come up," she says.
Addressing problems quickly is essential whether the issue stems from a physician, patient or employee complaint. With patients, you may simply have to apologize or let them know that their complaint is valid. "Sometimes you can come up with something that could be fixed or done better," she says. With employees or physicians, you can sit down with the affected parties and hash out a solution immediately so that ill will does not fester. Finally, review the outcome of your response. Is the new process working, and did the end result equal the desired response? Reviewing the outcome will give you perspective on how to handle similar issues in the future.
4. Let people talk through their problems. Sometimes the problem introduced by a staff member, physician or patient will not be the actual issue. For example, a physician may say they have a problem with a particular staff member, but if you let them talk through the issue, they may realize that the real problem was a malfunctioning piece of equipment. Staff members who come off as cold or curt may not realize they are taking out their frustration about a problem outside of the ASC at work.
When an employee, patient or physician is upset, invite them into your office to talk about the issue. More often than not, their initial complaint will lead to a list of small frustrations that have been building up over time. Let them know you are committed to solving the problem and that you can address the issues one by one to improve their work experience.
5. Suggest solutions rather than punishments. In a tight-knit surgery center, many of the problems that arise may concern relationships between physicians and staff members or the employees themselves. If a physician or a group of employees raises concern about the work or attitude of another employee, ask the criticized employee about possible solutions. In one case, Ms. Deeming had to talk to a nurse who had not been fulfilling her role properly. Before she initiated the conversation, she made sure to observe the nurse's work herself to determine whether the criticism was founded. When she saw that it was, she asked the nurse how they could work together to fix the issue. She suggested that the nurse spend an extra two hours every day with Ms. Deeming for a few weeks to work on her areas of difficulty. "The nurse did admit that she was having struggles, and she felt she couldn't' ask anyone for help," Ms. Deeming says. While the nurse ended up leaving the facility, she was glad that Ms. Deeming approached the situation with empathy rather than accusation.
6. Accept that you can't please everyone. Although administrators can resolve most issues that come up in a surgery center, there will always be a few issues that are out of your control or unable to be accommodated. "When that happens, be willing to rest in the fact that you've done the best with what you have and go from there," Ms. Deeming says. If you have listened, investigated, responded and reviewed the outcome, you should feel comfortable letting the issue rest.
Read more about running a successful surgery center:
-10 Traits of Highly Successful Surgery Center Administrators
-6 Key Concerns for Surgery Centers When Selecting New Cases
-5 Ways to Build a Great Hospital/ASC Joint Venture