Culture Catalyst Blog & Articles

Unique – But Not Really

I recently heard a fascinating statistic. According to research from NRC Health, when people feel they are treated as unique, they are 312% more likely to rate your organization as excellent. The question then is, how do we make every patient feel ...

Survival of the Loudest: An All Too Common Patient Experience

I heard an incredible story last week about a father’s journey through his daughter’s childhood cancer. One thing the father said struck me to the core. He said, “Technology didn’t save my child’s life, communication did.” He went on to share his personal patient experience. His concerns were diminished and his inquiries were delayed until he ...

Nurse Coaches Improve Quality, Safety and Service

A few years ago, I started working with two hospitals to train and embed nurse coaches in inpatient units. Their goal was to provide staff with ongoing feedback on behaviors tied to quality, safety, and service. Their results have been ...

It’s Not About the HCAHPS Scores!

Yesterday, I was doing physician communication training with a large group of doctors. To give context, I showed them their current patient experience scores focused on physician communication. One of the attendees raised his hand and said, “There has never been any ...

Good People, Bad Healthcare Systems

Healthcare is confusing, and it's often needed when we are at our most vulnerable. Despite major improvements in the patient experience over the years, deep chasms remain. And, in my experience, the gaps are often due to faulty healthcare systems ...

Nurse Communication: The Backbone of Patient Experience

As long as healthcare leaders have measured patient experience, they’ve seen a strong correlation between nurse communication and the overall experience. After 25 years of conducting communication skill training for nurses, I have made a few important observations about the subject, ...

Are You Accepting Excuses? What You Permit, You Promote

Accepting excuses as a way of life is often a subtle, yet insidious culture killer. When we do culture assessments, we frequently unearth patterns that point to an excuse mentality that keeps an organization stuck. The insights shed light on ...

Healthcare Jargon is a Foreign Language

I recently visited Costa Rica where the native language is Spanish. Despite my high school Spanish classes and a few lessons in Babbel, I was rusty, to say the least. I got by on simple interactions like ordering food or ...

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