Supporting Safer Healthcare

Walking down a hospital hallway recently I stopped a young nurse and said, “I was just visiting the patient in room 123 and…

“I’m not down here, my patients are up there” – pointing to the other end of the hall as she hurried by.

I was finally able to find someone to help; the request was simple, but the patient’s need was rather urgent.

I understand that just because someone asks for assistance doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to provide it, but how much more pleasant the encounter would have been had she said, “I’m so sorry, that isn’t one of my patients but A) let me help you find someone who can help, or at least B) ask at the nursing station and I’m sure someone will be able to help you.

I’m still thinking about the encounter and how it made me feel to be brushed off mid-sentence. 

So, this is just a gentle reminder to us all to remember the words Ralph Waldo Emerson penned more than a century ago - ”Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.”