AdvoCATing for Instrumentals: Give What you Get!

Finally, your hard work has paid off, you educated, you bragged, you passively aggressively threatened…and you now have the Admin agreeing to your instrumental requests. Don’t forget to CONTINUE to do the work!

It’s important to keep up the good fight, even when everyone seems to be on board. We have to remember that education is ongoing, so keep providing that feedback on those “wow” assessments, keep up the nursing in-services, report back with outcomes. And most of all, don’t forget to express your thanks to all involved.

Being a team player goes both ways, and it is crucial that we give back what we get. It can be easy to think to ourselves “Well, why should I be thankful??? Instrumentals should be EXPECTED in a plan of care for a patient with dysphagia!”-which is absolutely true, but until we all get there, a little bit of thanks can go a long way toward ensuring appropriate patient care.