According to the 2016 HR In the ER report from Nursing Solutions Inc., 78.8 percent of hospitals agreed they could achieve higher patient satisfaction scores with more staff. The nursing shortage is a leading contributor to the lack of hospital staff. The report states, “The number of available nurses is the key to meeting adequate staffing levels.”
Nurses spend more time with patients than other hospital personnel, meaning a patient’s experience with the nurses is the biggest contributor to satisfaction ratings, according to research by Press Ganey, a patient experience improvement firm.
When a hospital is short of nurses, the nurses must do more work and often have less time to spend with each patient. This situation “has [led] to burnout and job dissatisfaction, ultimately taking a toll on patient safety, outcomes, and satisfaction,” according to American Nurse Today.
The Importance of Nursing Education and Experience
Part of the nursing shortage is the lack of nurses with at least a BSN. In August 2015, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) surveyed nursing schools and found 47.4 percent of hospitals and other healthcare settings require new hires to have a BSN, while 83.5 percent of employers strongly prefer a BSN.
“A significant body of research shows that nurses with baccalaureate level preparation are linked to better patient outcomes,” according to the AACN. Nurses without a BSN can get the needed degree through an online RN to BSN program. These programs teach additional communication and problem-solving skills that nurses can use to help improve patient satisfaction scores.
Plus, nurses completing RN to BSN programs already have work experience, which gives them an advantage in finding a job over new BSNs with no experience.
The Importance of Communication Skills
One of the best ways nurses can improve patient satisfaction is by communicating effectively, according to Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses. Nurses need to take the time to explain medical conditions, procedures and discharge plans in terms a patient can understand.
A conversational pace is important. Patients might misinterpret speaking too fast as meaning the nurse does not have time to properly care for them. Nurses need to pause to give patients time to absorb the information and encourage them to ask questions. Eye contact, smiling and asking the patients questions are all ways to promote a connection that improves communication and patient satisfaction.
Importance of Patient Satisfaction
Satisfaction scores are very important to hospitals. Press Ganey research shows a general association between patient satisfaction scores and hospital readmission rates. Also, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 uses the scores as part of the calculation of value-based incentive payments in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program. Plus, the scores are publicly available on Medicare.gov’s Hospital Compare website.
As hospitals strive to improve their satisfaction scores, RN to BSN programs can help ease the nursing shortage by making available more of the BSN-prepared nurses that hospitals want to hire.
Learn more about the Lamar University online RN to BSN program.
Sources:
Viewpoint: Putting money at the bedside
https://americannursetoday.com/viewpoint-putting-money-bedside
Employment of New Nurse Graduates and Employer Preferences for Baccalaureate-Prepared Nurses
https://www.aacnnursing.org/News-Information/Research-Data-Center/Employment/2015
HR in the ER
https://www.hrotoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/HR-in-the-ER-Report-2016-Exclusive.pdf
The Rising Tide Measure: Communication With Nurses
http://amplioncare.com/wp-content/uploads/Communication_With_Nurses_May2013.pdf
