Happy Patient Experience Week

This year's theme from The Beryl Institute is "Building the Foundations of Experience," and that framing has been on my mind all morning.

Experience is built by everyone. The nurse who sits down at the bedside instead of standing. The physician who explains the same scan three times because the family needs to hear it three times. The environmental services teammate who notices a family looks tired and brings a pillow without being asked. The registrar who makes a stressed parent feel known on the first phone call. The chaplain who stays a few minutes longer. The interpreter who carries a hard message gently. The unit secretary who knows everyone by name. The case manager who fights one more call for a discharge plan. The food and nutrition staff who remember the kid only eats the green Jell-O. The patient relations and advocacy team who are always there to listen. The leaders making the call to staff a unit safely instead of stretching it. And the patients, families, and communities who tell us, again and again, what experience actually feels like from their side.

Where the foundation gets built

I keep thinking about how invisible the foundation is when it is working. It gets built in countless small choices. The choice to lead with warmth in a hard moment. The choice to do something kind no one asked for. The teammate who walked them back to their car. The nurse who remembered their grandkid's name on the second visit. The leader who called when they didn't have to.

These are the moments made over and over by hundreds of teammates across a building, and they are how the foundation holds.

A reminder, and an invitation

This week is a reminder that we are part of that building, all of us, no matter our title. It is also a reminder that the work is not finished. There is always more to learn from each other.

A few quiet thank-yous. Thank you to the colleagues who have taught me, including the ones who never knew they were teaching me. Thank you to every patient and family who trusted us with the hardest moments of their care.

Here is what I want to leave you with on the Monday of PX Week. Who is one teammate, in any role, whose work makes the foundation of your experience stronger? Tell them by name. In the comments. By LinkedIn tag. In person. They will remember it long after the week ends.