Nurses told to smile and show compassion?

Question

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/health/2148140/NHS-nurses-told-to-smile-and-show-compassion.html

Would an extra in the pay packet put a smile on the face?

Yr views on this please?

Answer 1

this a bit dodgy i think. i was a nurse, and peoples idea of compassion varies. what if a patient has to do something to make him better, and the nurse insists it has tobe done, then the patient can say "this nurse was not compassionate", when in fact, she was doing it for his own good.

i think it will put more pressure on nurses to be honest, and what starts out as friendly rivalry can turn into personal resentment/

also why nurses alone? what about the doctors GPS, in fact anyone dealing with the general public//

Answer 2

Is that before or after the bed bath? Just give them A GD payrise they deserve it.

Answer 3

Yet another 'false' measurement!

No doubt there will have to be another non-medical department set up to administer the system within each hospital.

Then there will need to be another department in each PCT to ensure that it is being administered fairly across all hospitals in the PCT.

A department will be required in the Ministry of Health to ensure that the system is carried out across all PCTs.

Another independent department will be required to deal with appeals against the 'score'.

A band of 'secret patients' (like secret shoppers) will also need to be recruited to ensure that the scoring is done anonymously - this will require additional staff in the Human Resources department of each PCT.

If the PCTs don't follow the standard then they will probably be fined - another department will have to be set up to collect and administer the fines.

Meanwhile, nurses pay will fail to keep up with inflation.

Nice one Alan - this is just the sort of dynamic,strategic thinking that is required from Cabinet ministers - award yourself another pay rise!

Answer 4

Hi hunni

Well considering that they are members of the caring profession, yes they should smile, but it's not always easy to smile is it & they do work in a demanding job.

  Dealing with drunk people who are violent etc, small wonder they don't smile.

  But the nurses in our local hospital are very friendly & caring, so it's not altogether true what was stated in the Telegraph.

  Maybe nurses should get a pay rise, but where would the money come from?

Good Luck hunni. X :-)

Answer 5

I am a nurse, I think most nurses have compassion and love their jobs, but most patients are very demanding, families are demanding, we are on our feet all day, and have too many patients, and overworked. So, sometimes, we can appear grumpy.

Answer 6

I actually don't know whether to laugh or cry!?

Part of me is really angry at the audacity of such a proposal - simply because I think it is totally insulting! Nurses are stressed, overworked, exploited and underpaid - would ANYONE smile in those working conditions!? Futhermore, why are nurses being targeted - surely anyone in a caring role, should be compassionate and smile!

The other part of me is sad. Sad because I fear there is a valid point - there IS a lack of compassion shown by nurses and I have witnessed so much of it, that it has filled me with despair. Compassion should be an integral part of the job - I know it was for me!

I think it is a tragic state of affairs that nurses need to be told to wash their hands, smile, show compassion etc. Nursing was once a noble profession - I don't know what it is now!!!!!

Nurses used to be valued and respected, now people are terrified of going into hospital, because of what they might experience or contract.

Bring back matrons - there was none of this nonsense when they were in charge of the hospitals!

EDIT: In response to my critics please check out the attached links

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

It is WRONG to judge someone when YOU are NOT in full possession of the FACTS, related to someone else's EXPERIENCES!

Could this be discussed via email?

Answer 7

How?

With the I-Robots at work?

When does an I-Robots learn how to smile?

What they see is garbage in and garbage out.

How do we expect the sick to recover.

See them cruising in.

The patients wanted to jump out from the bed.

Then walk out of the NHS.

But too weak to make their move.

Luke 8.5-8,10-17

What do you think?

Answer 8

I think it is important for nurses to show compassion but compassion in nursing isn't necessarily what everyone thinks of it.  For example, it may be painful for someone to get up and walk and they may not want to do it but it is compassionate (in the long run) for the nurse to really push that person into getting up.

In addition, studies have shown that the healing process is influenced by emotions.  If a compassionate, friendly, smiling nurse improves the healing process, shouldn't we request that of our nurses?

Answer 9

Smiling and compassion are emotions which come automatically at the appropriate time. Nurses who don't express these emotions naturally, are usually nurses who are at the end of a long stressful shift.

Along with the general nursing care, they have dealt with new admissions, discharges, emergencies, prepared patients for surgery and cared for immediate post op. patients. This includes the 1/2 hourly recording of blood-pressure & pulse, checking that all the infusions are running on time, checking wounds for bleeding while reassuring worried patients and their relatives, (who can be very impatient at times).

They have assisted doctors in their rounds, dealt with at least 30 telephone calls an hour (mostly unnecessary), taken wound swabs, urine and blood specimens for the laboratory, dished out meals, drinks and medications.

They have checked that all patients are recieving the proper care by planning and documenting their required treatment, and they have smiled and shown compassion all day long, sometimes without a proper coffee break.

What used to be titled, 'The most rewarding job in the world' should be changed to, 'The most exhausting, underpaid job in the world'.

The tasks mentioned above are just SOME of the routine duties which are usually carried out in under-staffed wards by underpaid & tired nurses, so give us a BREAK!

Sorry if my message sounds a tad arrogant, but sometimes it can be so frustrating to read such newspaper articles.

If you want us nurses to show even more compassion under these circumstances, then please talk to your smiling MP.

PS. I don't even want more pay ...just want someone to send us MORE STAFF.

____________________________________

Edit:

Sorry in advance for ranting again but I wish to answer to the remarks of, 'A Quirk of Fate'.

It's these kind of comments which give the public a false impression of nurses on the whole, and I feel the necessity here to stand up and protect our reputation.

I don't know which kind of hospital you worked in, Q o F, or when, but in all the years I've nursed, I've never known of any colleagues of mine being neglectful or abusive. It just wouldn't be tolerated.

We are responsible for the safety of the patients in our care and it's OUR DUTY to report any neglectful or abusive behaviour from anyone looking after them, just as it would be the responsibility of a neighbour to report child abuse to the authorities.

Where I work, and in any hospital I've worked in, the patient is always number one, and is cared for by nurses who go out of their way to give them the best treatment and care possible, despite the cut-backs.

Your source:

QUOTE :  "An ex nurse who left because she could no longer tolerate the lack of care, neglect and abuse she witnessed."

If you had really liked your job and cared for the patients, you would have stayed and fought to protect them from any further neglect and abuse you might have 'witnessed' while they were in your care.

Couldn't it be that you chose the wrong profession from the start?

Answer 10

I am a nurse too and if I didn't have compassion, I would never have become a nurse nor stayed one for all this time.  

I agree though, patients are becoming more and more demanding, as are their relatives.

Endless paperwork for assessments also takes us away from our patients more and more.

Out trust is looking to save money and many of us are having to take pay cuts.  My pay will be protected for the next 2 years but after that I stand to lose £3,000 a year.  And nursing is supposed to be a "caring" profession!  It sucks at times.

Answer 11

I fail to see exactly what they have to smile about.

The pay is c**p, the hours are c**p, patients are demanding and their relatives are even worse.

They get the blame for everything from MRSA and dirty hospitals to not enough pillows. Add to this a mountain of paperwork, trying to concentrate on 25 things to do at once and worrying about getting sued for the slightest error, is it any wonder nurses forget to smile once in a while?

Answer 12

This is the real problem with the NHS, people just don't realise it, or feel bad saying "they don't smile enough", and fabricate other excuses for why there service was poor. Nurses need to learn how to deal with people better, like every other worker who faces daily face-to-face contact with customers.

Answer 13

I wish they would have this in the USA! I think it's a great idea.