I have been a surveyor for just a little over a year. In my first year, I have done 32 surveys.
I’m somewhere every week, which is great. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t go on surveys. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, and I’ve been a nurse for close to 30 years.
Helping build an ambulatory surgery center was one of the last things I did before coming to The Joint Commission. From managing people, processes, and policies to actually doing construction and working in that facet of the business then securing contracts, getting accreditation, all of those things led me to be able to speak to most facets of the industry we’re in. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to be in a lot of different roles in healthcare.
When people say at the end of the survey that they learned something — or they say things like “That’s such a great idea or I hadn’t thought about that.” or ”Why didn't we think of that?” It’s those epiphany moments with the people you’re working with on a survey. You can tell them something that you’ve picked up from another facility and it works for them, or it’s just an idea you have based on an experience you’ve been a part of.
I’ve gone to places and they have said “We were thinking about changing our accreditor. But because of this survey, we’re not.” I’ve heard that several times, and that’s very, very reassuring that we’re doing something right.
I would tell them to get familiar with the standards. Read the chapters. Understand what they mean and how they apply to you and the services you offer. That’s one thing that nobody ever tells you to do. And they're like, ”Why don't I know this? I'm the infection control nurse and I know all these things. I do all these big conferences.” But that nurse never thought to read the chapters/standards.
Years ago we didn’t have a good presence, and therefore we didn’t have a good response. I pride myself on being part of this team and being part of the change in culture. Today it is collaborative, it is educational, it is meaningful. It’s not punitive or judgmental. It’s helpful. Organizations pursuing accreditation are getting something out of it, and they’re not afraid to share. They really open up to you.
So I think the culture change has just been 180 degrees for the better. That’s what I hear people say every week: This is the best survey we’ve ever had. A customer told me last week, “I’ve been part of this system for 30 years, and I’ve been through numerous Joint Commission surveys. This is absolutely the most educational and the best survey I’ve ever been part of.”
That’s really rewarding. It makes you feel like all the work you do, the things you’ve said and talked about — that somebody heard something that was helpful. I think the culture change has just been enormous for me to watch evolve over the years.
I pride myself in making it not like what I experienced over the years. People say, “Can we request you to come back?” It’s nice to hear that stuff and it makes you feel like you’ve made a difference. People who have been going through accreditation for a while tell you they actually can see the culture change and really enjoy the process more than in the past.
Just that we’re there for them; that our intentions are the best intentions. We tell people all the time that we’re a fresh set of eyes at a snapshot in time, and we want to do a good job for you. To be able to do that, we have to be transparent and collaborative.
That’s my pledge to them while I’m there: to be collaborative, transparent and educational. And if I’m not any of those things at any time, let me know. We talk it out until we figure it out. We have the best intentions to make it a purposeful, meaningful assessment.