Three Keys for CS/SPD Professionals to Elevate Your Elevator Etiquette

Whenever I'm in a meeting where a facility leader is talking about patient satisfaction scores, I always have to catch myself. No matter how much I advocate for my CS/SPD teams to be thinking in terms of patient satisfaction, it's a constant temptation to question, "How much can Sterile Processing really do? We're in the basement after all. The only interactions we have with patients are passing them in the hallway and getting on the elevator..."

And there it is. I'm back to remembering how important the little things are to how our patients and their families experience their care in our hospital. Regardless of how committed my team is to providing safe, sterile, and functional instrumentation for their surgeries, if we thoughtlessly bustle past them wandering in the hallway, a patient's perspective of our mission to heal them can be undermined. Do we really care if we're too busy to help them find room #203? Are they really the central focus of our profession if we're willing to steal the last spot in a packed elevator and make them wait for the next one? I think the answers speak for themselves.

While there are many little things a team can do to give patients what Chick-fil-a calls "Second Mile Service" and Disney calls "the Disney way," there are at least three keys to helping your CS/SPD team elevate their elevator etiquette:

1) Give the Example: Tell it Like it Is

When you first begin discussing elevator etiquette with your teams, you may be surprised at how little your folks may have thought about it before. But it's up to you to connect this seemingly unrelated nicety to the bigger picture of who your team is and what kind of experience you want your patients to have in your facility. However, just as important as the big picture are the concrete details of what good elevator etiquette even means. If you want your team to do this excellently, they must have a clear vision of what success looks like. Here are a few must-haves for your elevator etiquette list:

        * Don’t Be Marty McFly – So, apart from the DeLorean of Back to the Future fame, the second most well-known prop in this 80’s sci-fi comedy were the futuristic hoverboards. Which brings me to elevator etiquette point #1 – Don’t Be Marty McFly – Don’t Hover. The last things our patients want to see as the elevator doors open up is your beautiful face beaming just inches away from them in the hospital corridor. If you are waiting for an elevator, wait with enough distance between you and the elevator door so that any visitors can quickly and easily exit before you attempt to get on.  If you have a cart with you, make sure you are not blocking any pathways as you wait. Give elevator patrons some space, and leave the hovering to Michael J Fox.

        * Don’t Be That Guy/Gal – Although there are certain circumstances in which you may have to hustle to the next floor for a stat pickup or delivery, typically when traveling in patient elevators you have the luxury of giving preferential treatment and priority to our patients and their families. When you have the luxury, you should take it. Elevator etiquette point #2 – Don’t Be That Guy/Gal who takes the last spot in a packed elevator if a guest is waiting. Don’t be the employee who refused to "hold the door!" when the last few seconds of opportunity closes before your eyes.

As an employee, you know where the hidden stairs are and how to find the service elevators, but our patients do not. Don't be that guy who makes our patients wait.

* Appoint Yourself the Captain - I get it, you're just one of a handful of folks on this elevator. There are business suits, white lab coats, and patient families. Who are you to own this elevator ride? I'll tell you who you are. You're the Captain of this floating stainless steel carriage, and Elevator etiquette point #3 means that you can take control for the greater good. One of the best ways to serve others on their elevator ride is to take the helm at the floor selector buttons, and ask oncoming passengers which floor they are going to. This immediately takes all the anxiety away from visitors who are not only having to find a spot in the elevator, but also position themselves close enough to choose their floor. Something as simple as, "What floor are you going to today, ma'am?" can signal to our visitors, "You are cared for. I will make sure you get to where you need to go."

* Remember Where you Are and Who You Represent - Whether you're just coming into work, on your way out, or somewhere in between, if you are wearing a uniform or employee ID badge you are telling your facility's story to every person who joins you in that elevator. Elevator etiquette point #4 is Remember and Represent - the values of your hospital and the importance placed on patient/visitor care. Elevator rides are not a time to complain about workload, call ins, policy/procedure changes, etc. They are also not a time to do a quick check in on social media or start a mini-debate on the politics of the day. While you may be "officially" off the clock, as long as you bear the name and/or uniform of your employer, all that you do and say is done or said on behalf of your hospital. Use these times to serve our visitors, extend kindness, and communicate the greater vision of excellent healthcare.

2) Be the Example: Incarnate Etiquette

So, as we all know, it's one thing to know the right thing, but it's another thing entirely to do the right thing. A good word for this distinction between knowing and doing is incarnation, the embodiment of an abstract quality (such as customer service). Do you want your team to excel at elevator etiquette? You must lead by example and incarnate great elevator etiquette in your daily life. This means, whether you're busy, stressed out, in a rush, or just in your own world as you travel from one meeting to the next -- your people should be able to mirror your elevator habits and learn excellence from your example. Just as every elevator ride is telling a particular story to our visitors, your time in elevators with your staff is also teaching a particular philosophy of etiquette. Will it be a consistent display of customer service or a shallow example of selfishness? The answer is ultimately up to you.

3) Enjoy the Ride: Literally

I'll grant you that we've been splitting hairs in this post. Anything that gets as detailed as what to say when a visitor gets on an elevator could be received as a little too deep into the weeds, or perhaps crossing the line from teaching to meddling. I mean, can't a guy just get a 30 second break from one floor to the other? Well, allow me to allay your fears. At the end of the day, great elevator etiquette for CS/SPD staff is not as much about the details as it is about the heart. If you take one point away from this post, it should be this: Do your best to make your hospital's elevator experience enjoyable for everyone. Yes, this means thinking about others more than yourself, but the good news is that your team already does this every day. The driving force behind everything we do is Sterile Processing is the patient first. To elevate your team's elevator etiquette, you just need to bring this patient first mentality into the hallway, from the push of the button, to the *ding* of the opening doors. And whatever else you do, enjoy the ride.

Here's to just in time door-openings, friendly passengers, and room for one more...

W. Hank Balch ? November 2016

This article is the sole opinion of the author and in no way reflects the position of any employer or facility. You can find over 60 other Sterile Processing articles and commentary here.