How Employee Motivations Translate to Patient Care

Sunstar Paramedics, a dual-response emergency medical services provider in Pinellas County, Florida, is working to create a culture of exceptional patient care. And it’s done that by working to understand their employees’ motivations to create a patient-centric workforce.

In 2021, Sunstar Paramedics employees were asked this open-ended question in their employee survey: “What motivates you to do a good job?” More than 500 (58%) employees commented, and some of their responses included:

• Patients/citizens
• Work ethic
• Helping people
• Want to do a good job/be better
• Make a difference

In analyzing the results, Sunstar Paramedics found that more than three out of four employees who responded had listed an intrinsic motivator, meaning most of their employees find satisfaction in the work rather than the reward or consequence. 

Essentially, these employees are motivated by a sense of purpose. Knowing and understanding their motivations can help EMS organizations like Sunstar Paramedics support and manage their employees on their terms.

Digging Deeper

Once Sunstar Paramedics had its results from the employee survey, the organization wanted to better understand the perspectives of employees across Pinellas County, spanning over 20 EMS districts. Nine Pinellas County EMS employees were interviewed as a representative sample.

Some of the comments provided during the interviews included:

“Realizing that I am only a part of the big picture, but that I am capable and, in a position, to change things in a positive way is empowering.  Patients are people first and are receptive to being treated as such.  I try to keep the human element at the forefront of patient care. Past experiences have shown me the difference in someone who cares and someone who is just doing their job. Giving respect, both to your patients and to the members of your team sets the tone for the scene - making the best of a stressful situation.” - James Humphrey, Firefighter Paramedic, 12 years, Clearwater Fire & Rescue 

"'Treat patients like they were my parents. Remember the golden rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Sometimes our patients do not understand all the precautions we take. Our doorway assessments, having to wait while crews donned their PPE, the challenge of communicating with full facemasks.  When patients are angry or frustrated, I am going to care for my patients, no matter what they may say to me. No matter what they think about me.  I always remember something my parents taught me - ‘Leave it better than I found it’. I always remember that.” - Gina Jerelds, Paramedic, EMD, PST, 10 years of service, Sunstar Paramedics

“We maintained a human connection with our patients even in the most challenging public health crisis of our time. We overcame the challenge of the physical barriers of our personal protective equipment by patiently explaining our procedures to the patients. We kept a safe distance but kept our ability to convey empathy by maintaining eye contact and using an understanding tone of voice. We are adaptable and resilient.” - Aimée Jacobson, Firefighter, Paramedic, B.A. 6 years of service, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue

 “… remembering that I am helping people every day and actively making a difference in my community helped me keep a strong positive attitude during the pandemic. During these hard times I reminded myself that staying positive and having an upbeat attitude would not only help with my mental health, but that I can also help others! Staying positive and showing empathy towards every caller helped show the community that we are still working hard to get our citizens the best help even through trying times!” - Dillon Bean, CTO, EMD, EFD, Lead PST, 5 years of service, Regional 911 Dispatch Center

These comments emphasize the importance of patient’s well-being and the focus on community benefits to employees. The interviews validate the employee survey’s findings that most employees are motivated by making a difference and providing exceptional care to their patients, even in the most difficult times.

Demystifying the Patient Survey  

On top of an employee survey, EMS organizations such as Pinellas County EMS, have been conducting telephone interview surveys of 911 patients that address all agencies on the emergency call since 2016. The survey consists of seven questions that measure the patient’s rating of their satisfaction with the care provided to them.

Understanding what patients want and how to meet those expectations provides valuable information to our employees that supports achieving their intrinsic motivations related to purpose.

This knowledge and the dedication of Pinellas County EMS’ field clinicians, including 20 EMS districts, has resulted in outstanding patient engagement survey scores, consistently achieving high satisfaction scores of over 98%. Always striving for continuous improvement, Sunstar Paramedics and Pinellas County EMS shifted focus to patient engagement (“very satisfied” response only) in 2018.

Over the years, there has been a consistent rise in the overall engagement of 911 patients. Pinellas County EMS reached an all-time high of 87% patient engagement in 2022, placing the agency consistently in the Top 20th percentile for patient engagement across the nation.

These patient satisfaction results are a direct reflection of our workforce’s desire and ability to connect with patients and meet their physical and emotional needs.

Feedback and Recognition

Knowing that three in four employees are motivated by the opportunity to provide exceptional patient care, it’s important to report back to its employees about patients’ satisfaction. Employees receive their feedback from patient surveys, including any comments, on a monthly and 6-month scorecard. System performance is shared quarterly through posters and communication in Microsoft Teams.

While most employees are intrinsically motivated, one in four employees still require extrinsic motivation. Sunstar Paramedics has created incentives and additional reinforcement for service excellence through reward and recognition programs. 

For example, employees receive a PAT (Positive Action Taken) reward which equates to a point(s) when patients write in or share in detail about the positive experience they had with an employee. Employees accumulate points to redeem them for gift cards and other rewards, like a day off with pay. 

It is worth taking the time to understand employee motivators as they can help an organization engage its employees and work together to provide exceptional patient care.

Understanding motivators can drive decisions on hiring and how to approach orientation and training. Once hired, the motivators can help supervisors and managers keep employees engaged by providing the type of feedback that’s important to employees.

And most importantly, it can result in highly satisfied and engaged patients.

Debbie Vass, RN, EMT-P is Vice President of Quality Initiatives at PatientCare EMS Solutions and Jeremy Tinter, MBA, NRP is the Director of Operations at Sunstar Paramedics.