Hear more about how nurses and nurse leaders can help patients engage with their healthcare, in and out of the hospital.
Nurses wear many hats in the industry, but their primary focus is on patient interaction and care delivery.
Both nurses and nurse leaders play pivotal roles in making sure that patients engage with preventative care measures and patient education programs. It's also the CNO's job to ensure the effectiveness of remote patient monitoring programs and to find creative solutions for dealing with social determinants of health.
According to Cassie Lewis, chief nursing officer at Bon Secours’ Richmond market, part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, and HealthLeaders Exchange member, improving patient engagement begins with the day-to-day interactions between the patient and the bedside nurses who care for them.
"Those subtle interactions that they can do with our patients everyday can truly make such a difference in how patients view our healthcare system and how they view their care," Lewis said. "Trying to emphasize this for our teams and making sure…they understand the importance and what they can do for our patients is the first step in helping them engage in a more meaningful way."
Building trust and communication between nurses and patients is also critical to patient engagement, according to Lewis.
"One solution that we have really tried to emphasize here is the importance of bedside shift reports and good handoffs," Lewis said. "It's really important to start developing trust with the patients and including them in their care, versus keeping them on the outside looking in."
Lewis recommended that CNOs leverage technology to build robust, individualized patient education and remote patient monitoring programs, while considering social determinants of health. Clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse educators all play a key role in these processes.
"We know that it's not a one-stop shop for every single patient that comes in our door," Lewis said, "and while we have great things we can augment with technology […], [we need] to take that one step further."
Listen to this week's episode of the HealthLeaders Podcast to hear more about how nurses and nurse leaders can help patients engage with their healthcare, in and out of the hospital.
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G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Nurses must learn how to communicate and build relationships to develop trust and create a safe space for patients to be vulnerable.
CNOs should work to meet patients where they are at and create programs with social determinants of health in mind.
Leadership should leverage technology and clinical nurse specialists, nurse practitioners, and nurse educators to increase patient engagement in programs.