HCAHPS/Press Ganey's Impact On Nursing Essay

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HCAHPS/Press Ganey’s Impact on Nurses The HCAHPS/Press Ganey survey greatly impacts the nursing population. Nurses directly provide care to patients. They are those who care for, work with, and make the most contact with patients. Therefore, it is the face of the nurse that usually comes to mind when patients think back to their care at the hospital. It is the nurse whom the patient will remember when filling out the HCAHPS/Press Ganey survey. The survey creates an additional check of accountability as it is another tool that monitors and holds nurses responsible for their care (Thompson, 2014). This in turn promotes nurses to perform better quality of care as it increases the transparency to their care. Repetitively reported poor care …show more content…

Patients expect instant response to call lights due to today’s technological advancements. This can negatively impact nurse stress and cause contempt toward the patient. However, the expectation to respond promptly improves safety and encourages frequent rounding. Also, aiming for high patient satisfaction scores on the HCAHPS/Press Ganey by fulfilling patient requests can overshadow safe, efficient, and necessary healthcare. Although patient satisfaction is important, ultimately, the patient’s health takes precedence over satisfying patient and family requests, especially when those requests are unnecessary, harmful, or take away from the plan of care (Junewicz & Youngner, 2015). The HCAHPS/Press Ganey survey focuses on the patient’s perception of care. The problem with this aspect of the survey is that the first and foremost goal of nurses should not be to increase a patient’s score based on perception. According to an article in Health Facilities Management, the nurse’s top priority is to provide the safest, most quality care possible for patients with the resources they are given (Hurst, 2013). Once this has been accomplished, the nurse can then help the patient realize that the most …show more content…

According to an article in Health Services Research, safety is one of the main reasons that HCAHPS/Press Ganey surveys patients after their hospital stays (Isaac, Zaslavsky, Cleary & Landon, 2010). This positive aspect brought about by HCAHPS/Press Ganey surveys is the re-focus of patient safety, something that should be a top priority and nursing responsibility of all patient care. A direct example of this focus is that if a patient experiences a serious safety event or is harmed by a medical error, his or her overall experience will be negatively impacted. (Isaac et.al., 2010). Cohen (2015) predicts that if the focus of healthcare shifts to the delivery of safe, compassionate, high-quality care, the patient experience and satisfaction with their overall care is likely to rise. There is also evidence that increased patient satisfaction is important for improving patient adherence. How patients perceive the receptiveness of the unit’s hospital staff likely reflects the hospital 's safety culture thus promoting adherence to treatment guidelines (Isaac, Zaslavsky, Cleary & Landon, 2010). Patients are more likely to continue suggested healthy habits and be compliant with their medication if they are satisfied with their healthcare practitioners. Spence & Fida (2015) correlated in their article the relationship between a nurse 's job satisfaction, job retention, and perceived

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