This is the story of John and Ken*. Each was scheduled for surgery but at different hospitals. What do you think of their experiences?
Meet John
He was admitted to the hospital for surgery. The nurse helped him get settled into his room and John asked about scheduling but the nurse was not sure and said the surgeon should be by later that day.
John and his wife watched a little TV but their favorite cable news network was not available so they talked about the weather, the kids and the hospital bill and wondered when they would see the doctor.
The surgeon made a quick visit late that evening. He told John the surgery should take about an hour and as he was leaving the room asked John if he had any questions. Not wanting to appear stupid John said no. Later John began asking his wife a few questions about the surgery that he wished he had asked the surgeon. She assured him everything would go okay even though she was very nervous herself. When the nurse came in, John asked her several questions. She could not answer John but she would ask the doctor and hopefully he would talk with him before the surgery.
The next morning the surgeon spoke to John briefly and said he would see him after the procedure. When John woke up in recovery a nurse checked on him and asked questions about how he felt and what his pain level was on a scale of 1 – 10. She said the surgery went well and John should be cleared to go home within a day or so and the surgeon would see him later.
Back in the room John and his wife talked about the surgery. Neither knew very much about what had transpired. Several questions were tossed to the nurses when they came in to check on John but each time they said they were not sure and the doctor would be able to answer their questions when he came by later. When the surgeon made rounds John was napping. He did wake up for the visit but didn’t ask any questions because he couldn’t remember what he wanted to ask. The surgeon said John could go home the next afternoon. He was glad because he wanted to leave but John’s wife was very anxious since she wasn’t sure if she could properly care for John once at home.
At discharge the nurse provided a paper she had copied several times over the last few months with instructions to make an appointment to see his regular physician in two weeks and some general instructions on what to do when they got home, had him sign several documents and wheeled him out the door to his car and wished him well.
Meet Ken
Ken lives in the same town as John and just left his doctor’s office where they discussed Ken’s upcoming surgery at a different hospital.
Ken and his wife checked into the hospital and the nurse helped them get settled. He told Ken that his surgeon would make rounds between 4:00 and 5:00 that day and recommended that Ken and his wife watch several videos on the TV system. He explained that the hospital recently installed a video on demand system that contained educational videos that would provide them with additional information about their hospital stay. He left a pad and pen and simple ordering instructions on how to access the videos. He also told them that channel 3 was their Hospital Information Channel and recommended they visit the channel when they had a moment and if Ken got tired and just wanted to rest there was a Relaxation Channel that played soothing music over video scenes of beaches, mountains and rivers.
They decided to watch the videos once the nurse left. The first video was a welcome message from the hospital that included information Ken’s wife needed about parking, night security, entrance and exits, food service hours, coffee shop, waiting rooms, gift shop, the TV system and the education system. The second video explained the hospital’s focus and expertise including Ken’s diagnosis. This made both Ken and his wife feel good about their choice. The last video provided a tour of the hospital’s website, how to search for content and a list of blogs written by doctors and staff on various topics. It also touched on the hospitals Facebook page, several support groups and events they sponsor, how they use Twitter and their newsletter and the options available to communicate with the staff.
The nurse came in later to check on Ken and ask a few questions about Ken’s diagnosis, his recent medical history and how he felt about his surgery. From this the nurse was able to assess Ken’s knowledge and understanding of his situation so he could recommend appropriate educational video programs that would provide Ken and his wife with important information on top of what they already knew. He gave Ken a list of three videos and reminded them to use the pen and pad to make some notes and write down questions.
Watching the videos was very easy. Ken’s wife used the telephone, called an extension and followed the voice prompts. They watched each video discussing what they saw and heard and even watched the video about the surgery a second time to make sure they understood the procedure. They jotted down four questions.
When the surgeon entered the room about 4:20 the first thing she asked was “what questions” Ken and his wife had written down from the videos. They reviewed each one and the doctor provided answers and also recommended another video that she had done that would provide them with information about Ken’s rehab after the surgery. The reason the doctor produced this video was to make sure she provided consistent instructions to each patient on the necessary post-op care for this particular surgery. On busy surgery days she would give this same information to multiple patients and she found that using the video ensured consistency and enabled the patients and their caregivers an opportunity to watch multiple times and this helped them retain the information better and longer. She had also prepared videos for her other most common procedures and found the patients and nursing staff responded to well to these. The nursing staff was very familiar with these videos as well and it helped them answer patient questions and provide demonstrations that reinforced what was in each video.
As the doctor left, Ken’s food tray arrived so they decided to watch the rehab video while Ken ate his dinner. They discussed several points on the video and Ken’s wife wrote down a few questions. Later Ken rested while his wife watched channel 3 and learned more about the hospital, the staff, some tips on avoiding the flu and noted a link for a recipe the hospital’s dietitian mentioned on the channel.
The next morning, prior to Ken’s surgery, the doctor touched base with Ken’s wife, answered her questions and said she would provide additional information after surgery to address any new questions.
When Ken woke up after surgery his wife came in with good news. She had talked with his doctor and the surgery went well. They also discussed their previous questions since she had met with the doctor prior to surgery. Shortly, their conversation changed to Ken’s rehab and what they would do when he came home based on what they learned from the doctor’s rehab video. This discussion and the video helped Ken’s wife understand what she would need to do when they got home and she felt very confident things would be fine.
Ken rested comfortably the rest of the day while his wife watched another video the nurse had recommended about Ken’s home care. She also found several videos about food and nutrition that she enjoyed and thought it would be a good idea for them to start eating better.
On discharge day the surgeon came by in the morning and answered questions about Ken’s home care and provided Ken’s wife with a document of frequently asked questions plus several web addresses that she could check out if she wanted to learn more. She also provided her phone number and email address so Ken’s wife could contact her if anything came up. The nurse returned a few minutes later with discharge information and answered a few more questions and reviewed several key things Ken’s wife needed to know about Ken’s care and provided a brief demonstration that reinforced one of the videos before wheeling Ken downstairs to his car and wishing them well.
Who would you rather be? John or Ken? John’s wife or Ken’s wife? Who left feeling more confident? How do you think each couple scored their patient satisfaction? What impact do you think a specific education process had on Ken’s experience? What impact did this process have on the staff?
Download our free Hospital TV Patient Education Kit for information on how to become a hospital like Ken’s.
*John and Ken are fictional characters but their stories are a composite taken from real patient experiences and related to us in several interviews.
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