Patients may not speak up right away, but they know what good customer service is and they'll tell others. Let's make sure what patients tell others about Jefferson is how we treated them with compassion, sensitivity and respect. While Mr. Westfall's editorial featured his interactions with doctors and nurses, there are lessons in his article for the rest of us Jeffersonians who may not deal directly with patients. Be aware of what you say in elevators and other places where patients or visitors can overhear. Patients want to know that we're not too busy or too distracted to care for them.
Loose talk can hurt confidence and confidentiality.
Of course it's never acceptable to talk about a patient's medical secrets in public places, but overhearing other inappropriate topics of conversation can cause patients great distress.