Sunday, July 5, 2020

LIFE: Happiness in healthcare! Is it possible?

Are you the healthcare provider who tries to make sure your patient receives the best possible care? You thrive on the satisfaction of knowing you did your best job during that 12 hour shift , which usually turns into 14! You may be wondering, if happiness is even possible in healthcare? Especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. With all the rules in place for safety for Covid-19, other avenues are being explored to apply great healthcare. Here are a few strategies to ensure happy nurses, and happy patients. They are as follow:

Food Appreciation:-)!
Food Appreciation:-)!



  1. Use alternate ways to communicate- There is a plethora of technology that allows alternate ways to communicate with a patient(ex: call light, phone, and IPAD). With Covid-19 being very prevalent, using an alternate form of communication with your patient will make the patient feel valuable. Also, it will assist the healthcare provider in feeling they are giving adequate care.
  2. Set up a regular communication schedule- This can be a very valuable tool. Weather you are setting up personal time to chat with each patient, and/or just completing a regular round. This tool indirectly builds trust between the healthcare provider and patient. The patient views those particular times as being just for them. Also, this strategy applies to healthcare employees. Healthcare workers need regular check-ins with a superior to reinforce a job well done.
  3. Make the patient feel they are the only one that matter- Don't appear hurried as a healthcare provider. This can backfire on you. Have you ever spent 20 minutes with a patient, but the patient feels as if you didn't spend anytime with them due to the fact they felt you were distracted. Weather its 5 or 20 minutes, give the patient your undivided attention. To them 5 minutes feel like a life time, if they are the center of your world. As a healthcare worker, this same one on one attention is needed. Five minutes with a supervisor can make the employee feel superb at their job, and reinforces trust.
  4. Make time for yourself during the shift- I know this is difficult, but it can be done. As a healthcare provider your regrouping time is important! If you set up times for your patients, your 30 min break should be achievable. If you are having difficulties achieving this goal, it is OK to ask for assistance to take a break. You are no good to a patient if your emotional fuel is low. You do not get an "F" for the shift because you need assistance to have a break. Again, you are meeting patients at their lowest, so they need you to be your best as a healthcare provider. Who better to take care of a patient than a fully recharged nurse:-)!

* Of course, these strategies are not all inclusive:-)! Let me know how you achieve happiness in healthcare! Thank you for reading, please subscribe via e-mail on the right, and leave your comments below (comments may be left anonymously).*

2 comments:

Dee said...

I love some of your ideas and will have to try one or two 😉.....what we started doing every Saturday was going to the park (before it reopened (NJ/NYC)) and had a picnic inside the car...wine, crackers, cheese 😁....and we would just talk for HOURS!!! What makes this even better these days is that we can even take a walk in the park now that the parks are reopened! This is now the thing that we look forward to every week

Shawon Henry-Jacobs RN, MSN said...

Thank you Dee for responding, and sharing! I love the example you are sharing of spending quality time together. It is very creative. This is sure to spice things up:-)! My fiancé and I are sure to try this one:-)!