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HomeAll PostingsKindness can go a long way

Kindness can go a long way

I have learned as a nurse, healthcare leader, and most importantly personally as a patient, that it is often the little things that make the biggest impression and difference in our healthcare experience.

Small acts of kindness, thoughtful gestures, being respectfully included in discussions and decisions impacting our health alleviate feelings of anxiety, vulnerability and at times humiliation. When I think back to a time when I was recovering from a major surgery 25 years ago, it was the kind things that the staff - cleaning, nursing and physician - did and said that come to mind. The surgeon was brilliant and skilled but the nurse that brought in Christmas baking for my family will never be forgotten and the efforts to wash my hair were so appreciated.

What mattered to me was how the staff spoke to me, how they treated me and how they made me feel. I hope I don’t ever lose sight of this in my role - which is now further from the bedside.

Dr. Colin Del Castilho, Medical Director of South Health Campus (SHC) and I frequently receive letters of commendation from patients and their families regarding the care they received at the SHC.

Patients consistently pass on positive comments about not only the excellent clinical care they received but also how tidy and clean the site and their room was, the friendliness of all the staff, how everyone was helpful and how they were respectfully involved in their care plan and care decisions.

Occasionally we will get a letter of complaint and more often than not it is about how a staff member or physician spoke to them or made them feel in spite of the actual care being good.

What we consistently hear from patients and their families is that what really matters to them is that the clinical care is safe and of a high quality but that they are treated with respect by staff that are kind and thoughtful. Kindness and common courtesy go a long way!