According to one study, between 2006 and 2010, the nursing profession grew 7%, making it one of the fastest growing occupations in the United States.

And thank goodness this profession is growing so rapidly, as these individuals are crucial to improving the quality, efficiency and safety of healthcare. As healthcare is shifting to a value-based model, with a focus on quality of care, the role nurses play is becoming even more significant. In fact, nurses also play a heightened role in patient experience, as it’s a well-known fact that they tend to spend more direct time with patients than other employees, including physicians.

Nurses are important for a variety of reasons, including the impact they can have on a hospital’s culture; nurses tend to set the bar for the level of caring and professional care provided. As a leader in your organization, when there are critical assessments being made, it’s important to include experienced nurses in the decision-making team.

But for now, we want to circle back to discussing the role nurses play in patient experience and satisfaction. The best way for nurses to offer a better quality of care is to receive the resources and support they need from their organization.

Here are a few ways your organization can help to improve patient satisfaction through nurses:

1. Train nurses to deal with difficult situations. Even the best-trained, most caring nurse can be caught off-guard by an angry patient or lost test results. It’s important that nurses are properly trained and prepared by their organization to deal with these situations, as well as to know how to react and respond to them.
2. Make supplies accessible. Do you know how often nurses have to go in search of supplies? Not only is this frustrating for nurses, it’s also a massive waste of their time. Instead, create a system that ensures that supplies are always available and restocked in multiple, accessible locations on a regular basis.
3. Empower your nurses. Include nurses in major initiatives, and allow them to have autonomy over their work. Not only will the nurses be more engaged and satisfied, but so will the patients.

Nurses have always been irreplaceable and important, and you can expect their role to become even more important in years to come. Now that you have some ideas to help you better support your nurses and their relationships with patients, stay tuned: in an upcoming newsletter, we’ll be discussing the effect unsatisfied nurses can have on patients, as well as on the organization as a whole.

Ready to find the operational solutions you’ve been waiting for? COORS has the expertise and experience needed to accurately assess various dimensions of your organization, improving the bottom line while enhancing quality of care. Our team of experts is here to help you assess key organizational dynamics, including culture, profitability and IT. Contact us today to learn more!