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Balance the Tasks with Caring Behaviors

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 10th, 2018 • No Comments »

Working in healthcare takes an immense amount of technical skills especially when you work in direct patient care. After all, if you screw up an important technical task, you could hurt, or even kill someone. But it is important to keep in mind that the tasks almost always involves a human being at the other end.
I can vividly recall how stressful it was to perform my first injections, my first IV starts and first NG tube insertions as a student nurse. I’m sure that during those “firsts” I was totally focused on the task at hand. Out of fear that I would mess up and inadvertently hurt my patient. In the beginning, I’m sure I was more focused on the task than on the person on the receiving end. Over time, as I became more proficient and gained confidence, I could safely share my attention between the human interaction and the technical task at hand. That is what many strive for – the balance between technical competence and the ability to relate on a personal level. Read more...

The Gift of Presence

Posted by Kristin Baird on July 19th, 2016 • No Comments »

This morning as I was driving home from the gym, I spotted a family out walking together. There was a man, a woman, a baby in the stroller and two other children about 9 or 10 years old. It was a beautiful day for a walk. The sun was shining, the birds singing, and the park they were passing was picturesque. The entire scene could have been from a Norman Rockwell painting, except for one thing. Everyone except the baby was focused on his or her smart phone. There was no human interaction between the members of the group, just virtual encounters with others who were not physically present. What I noticed was that the baby was the only one taking in the sights. He was bright eyed, looking around and taking in his surroundings with curiosity. He looked truly happy while his walking companions were all expressionless and moving ahead as if in a trance. Read more...

What Hospice Can Teach Us about Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on November 23rd, 2015 • No Comments »

The other day I had the pleasure of speaking at the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) meeting. After my presentation, two men in the audience talked with me about how they feel hospice has always had the patient experience at the core of their model. They’re right.

Hospitals are working hard to overcome provider-centric processes and systems to become more patient centered. In acute care settings, the patient enters the medical world and often submits to the professional’s instructions, rules and expertise. They are in foreign territory. Hospitals are evolving with time, but in many organizations, it remains a huge paradigm shift. While progress is being made, many still have a long way to go. Read more...

Early Morning Rounds Aren’t Patient-Centered

Posted by Kristin Baird on March 17th, 2015 • No Comments »

There is so much talk about patient-centeredness and yet I see a long way to go. I think that there are very good intentions, but when it gets difficult, human nature is to slip back into what is comfortable for us. For as long as I can remember, physicians have made rounds early in the morning. Why? It works for them. They can make their rounds and head into the office or the operating room. But how well does it work for the patient? Not so well. Read more...

Mom’s Last Lessons on the Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on January 30th, 2015 • 6 Comments »

Over the past month I’ve been on a very personal mission as I helped my mother live out the final chapter of her life’s journey. In early November she learned that her lung cancer had metastasized to her bones. The PET scan only confirmed what she already knew from her painful symptoms.

This feisty, smart, strong and good-humored octogenarian wasn’t scared, but rather somewhat relieved to learn her timeline. She had said, “We all wonder when and how we’re going to die. Now I know. I’m a planner and now I’ve got a clear deadline.” But she wanted to do it her way and on her terms. My job then, became 100% focused on her needs and desires. And in the process I gained the greatest personal and professional insights of my life. Read more...

Are you Giving out Free Passes?

Posted by Kristin Baird on June 17th, 2014 • No Comments »

Taking an honest look at reality can be painful. Especially when doing so may require that you change your own behavior. And yet, that is exactly what happens when, during culture assessments, we discover sacred cows and free passes that are eroding leader credibility and impeding development of a healthy, collaborative, patient and family centered culture. Read more...

Keep it simple and get it done!

Posted by Kristin Baird on May 22nd, 2014 • 2 Comments »

A few weeks ago I was sitting on a plane waiting to take off. I looked out the window at the jetway where the gate checked luggage had been taken. I noticed a pneumatic tube carriage like the one I use at the bank to send my deposits to the teller. But in this case, there was no tube. Just the carriage tied to a hefty rope and dangling off the staircase attached to the jetway. The baggage carriers and gate attendant were raising and lowering the carriage containing their paperwork with a rope. My guess is that it makes it easier than having to run up and down the staircase with the paperwork. Or maybe the tube system was down. Either way, I got a kick out of they way they had devised a simple, if not primitive way to solve a problem. It also dawned on me that we often spend more time looking for, or engineering technology and complex processes for problems that could be resolved with some basic logic and simple tools. Read more...

Nothing about me Without me

Posted by Kristin Baird on April 1st, 2014 • No Comments »

The statement, “Nothing about me without me,” has become something of a mantra from the patient safety movement. It suggests that patients must be integrally involved in the systems and organizations we are striving to improve. That same thinking must be integrated in patient centered care as well. If we don’t involve patients in the design of care, we’ll be missing huge opportunities. But involving patients in the design of care is not limited to major systems, building design, and process improvements. It starts with a conversation centered on one question, “What’s most important to you about your care?” Read more...

One Bad Apple Can Make a Rotten Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on January 8th, 2014 • 1 Comment »

A recent series of family medical emergencies and a scheduled cancer procedure with my sister had me bouncing from emergency rooms and doctor’s offices to labs and hospital rooms over a two week period. During that time I experienced some of the best and worst encounters possible. I will say that all the interactions and every person made an impact, but none more than the physicians. What I realized is that an exceptionally attentive doctor can make up for lost lab results, miscommunications, and other irritating debacles. When my mom’s doctor took the time to call me on Christmas day (when she was not on duty) to review a new medication regimen and to check on mom’s condition, I could see past the mistake at the lab causing us to have to return to the hospital on Christmas day for a repeat blood draw. Read more...

Resilience Supports a Positive Patient Experience

Posted by Kristin Baird on October 11th, 2013 • No Comments »

We live and work in uncertain times. It’s impossible to avoid unforeseen challenges and setbacks that disrupt the status quo. Change is a certainty, so it’s best to embrace it and strive for resiliency at individual, unit and organizational levels. Becoming resilient will help you and others in your organization adapt to change and essentially learn to “roll with the punches.” Resilience, then, has a direct impact on creating a consistently positive patient experience. How? When staff are more resilient, they can adapt quickly to changing situations meaning that there is little disruption for the patient being served regardless of what is going on with staffing, management or other external and internal events. Read more...

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