Arguably one of the most difficult parts of being a nurse is delivering bad news to patients and their families.
Whether you’re informing a patient of an unfavorable diagnosis or telling someone their loved one has passed away, the situation is emotionally draining and one nurses dread.
To help make the task a little easier, here are a few tips for breaking bad news.
Sometimes, the most challenging obstacle a physician can face is establishing a strong connection with their patient.
The benefits of a good physician-patient relationship are numerous—higher patient satisfaction, better diagnostic accuracy, increased compliance to treatment plans and improved outcomes, to name a few—but breaking down the barrier between clinicians and patients can be difficult.
Here are five ways physicians can build better patient relationships.
Above all else, a nurse’s first priority is to provide high-quality care to his or her patients.
What comes after that can be different for every nurse, but likely the most common secondary goal is to be as efficient and productive as possible. Each nurse has his or her own tried-and-true methods for increasing efficiency and productivity, but sometimes it can be a good idea to think outside the box.
Here are four unexpected ways to improve nursing productivity.
Nurse leaders historically have been underrepresented on hospital governing boards. Although most boards included at least a few doctors, it was unusual to see a nurse serve. Unfortunately, that meant the very people who had important experience and insights about patient care didn’t have a voice in the way the hospital was run.
Today, as hospital leaders realize the importance of creating a collaborative environment, nurses are gradually being added to hospital boards. Supporting this initiative is The Nurses on Board Coalition (NOBC). Founded in 2014, the NOBC represents two dozen national nursing and other organizations, including the American Nurses Association, American Academy of Nursing and AARP. Its mission is to increase awareness of the unique perspective nurses can offer and ensure at least 10,000 nurses are on corporate and health-related boards as well as panels and commissions by 2020.
Becoming a member of your hospital’s governing board is an excellent way to initiate positive changes that will benefit the entire hospital and improve patient care. Here are three reasons that you should consider joining a governing board.
Grants, Medicare payments and private payor reimbursements may be enough to keep a hospital running, but substantial improvements to a hospital require financial assistance from outside donors.
Successfully soliciting contributions can be challenging; taking the wrong approach can have major consequences. However, a healthcare organization's facilities can benefit tremendously from well-executed fundraising programs.
Read on to learn nine of the best practices for hospital fundraising.
