Leadership rounding on patients is a common tactic in acute care hospitals as a way for leadership to understand their patients’ experiences as they are happening and to positively influence the perception of their care.

After working at a large patient satisfaction survey company, I have heard my fair share of patient stories. Although some stories were enthusiastic praises of the facility and the staff, more often, they were descriptions of terrible patient experiences. From losing an item at the hospital and never receiving follow-up to horror stories of poor quality of care. I’ve heard it all. A patient, who had filed a complaint with the hospital about a missing wallet, told me that “they [the hospital] never cared enough to look”.

Think about a memorable experience in your life; one that you won’t ever forget. Odds are it's on one end of the experience spectrum either being a positive or negative experience. While there are many defining moments in our life that stem from an accident or luck, there are a plethora of opportunities to curate positive yet memorable experiences for the patients we care for in our healthcare organizations.