How to Implement the 10 and 5 Rule in Nursing Homes – iContracts (2024)

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The Baby Boomers are coming to a nursing home near you, and they are used to getting what they want! Boomers are a wealthier group of retirees than previous generations. In fact, according to an article by the Population Reference Bureau, “The poverty rate for Americans ages 65 and older has dropped sharply during the past 50 years, from nearly 30 percent in 1966 to 10 percent today.” To remain competitive for this growing demographic, nursing homes should consider adopting a hospitality-industry approach. At this point in their lives, amassing “stuff” is no longer as important as it once was to Boomers. Still, they want the best that life has to offer, and creating a hospitable environment is just what the doctor ordered.

INTRODUCING THE 10 AND 5 RULE

The 10 and 5 rule is a simple guideline that is widely used in the hospitality industry. The rule dictates that when a staff member is 10 feet from a guest, the staff smiles and makes direct eye contact, and when they are within five feet, the staff verbally greets the guest. Applying this principle to nursing homes is a simple, inexpensive way to enrich patient and staff lives.

THE SCIENCE OF EXPRESSION

Human beings are hardwired to read each other’s faces to identify how they are feeling. This helps us act appropriately towards the other person. As explained in Neuroscience News, “an instinct for facial mimicry allows us to empathize with and even experience other people’s feelings.” As humans working in such a compassionate field as healthcare, empathy can wreak havoc on us and others with whom we associate. The last thing we want to do is spread one person’s sadness to another. The good news is that we can reset our emotions with a smile.

Research shows that contracting your facial muscles to smile causes more blood to flow to your frontal lobes and causes your brain to release the same mood-enhancing chemical as coffee, chocolate, and even cocaine—dopamine. So, you’re happy because you smile, and you smile because you are happy. It’s like a loop. What’s more, research shows that it doesn’t matter if you are faking the smile, the brain still produces dopamine. So, it even works to “fake it until you make it.”

A HEALTHCARE CASE IN POINT

Ochsner Health System decided to use this knowledge to educate and train the entire staff to smile whenever they were within ten feet and say, “Hello,” any time they were within five feet of another person, whether that person was a patient or staff member. They didn’t simply send a memo, hang a sign or two, and forget about it. They practiced the rule, and it became so natural that staff felt awkward if they didn’t smile and greet each other and patients. It’s no coincidence that in 2015, Ochsner Health System’s operating surplus grew 429%.

IMPLEMENTING IT IN YOUR NURSING HOME

Train your staff by sharing the research and examples with them. If you are short on time, train the supervisors and have them train others. Include the training in your new employee orientation and behavior code so that everyone understands the expectations. For best results, follow these tips:

  • Make it universal—all staff smiles and greets everyone in the facility. When you are within 10 feet of anyone, make eye contact and smile, and speak to them (e.g. good morning, hello, lovely day) when you are within five feet. In case you were wondering, the average person’s footstep is 2.5 feet, so 10 feet away would be roughly four footsteps and five feet is around 2 steps.
  • Trust science to fulfill its promise. Assure everyone that if they are uncomfortable at first, following the 10 and 5 rule will become very natural as their brains are rewired.
  • Encourage bonding. Suggest to your staff that they practice the rule everywhere they go. It will give them an extra opportunity to bond by sharing their experiences of following the rule in their private lives as well.
  • Support each other. Commit to helping each other. Remind each other subtly.
  • Give visual cues. Consider hanging signs or posters of smiling people in staff-only areas.
  • Commit to positivity. Asking employees not to “vent” is unrealistic, but they can commit to doing it away from patients. You may even find it helpful to designate an area for venting.

Such a simple idea as the 10 and 5 rule has the potential to create a great impact in our nursing homes. Step-smile, step-greet, could be the key to a whole new culture of happiness that our society needs and deserves.

Need a tool that can help you implement policies like the 10 and 5 rule quickly and easily? Looking to free up your busy schedule so you can spend more time on improving patient care? Then be sure to check out iContracts’ portfolio of policy, contract, and compliance software solutions by viewing a demo!

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How to Implement the 10 and 5 Rule in Nursing Homes – iContracts (2024)

FAQs

How to Implement the 10 and 5 Rule in Nursing Homes – iContracts? ›

For best results, follow these tips: Make it universal—all staff smiles and greets everyone in the facility. When you are within 10 feet of anyone, make eye contact and smile, and speak to them (e.g. good morning, hello, lovely day) when you are within five feet.

What is the 10/5 rule in nursing? ›

"If you're within 10 feet of someone, you make eye contact and smile, and if you're within five feet, you say hello," she says. Because of this simple little rule, something that took no time at all out of anyone's workday, "civility spread, [and] patient satisfaction rose, as did patient referrals."

What is the 10 and 5 rule? ›

The idea behind the 10:5 rule is that anytime you find yourself within 10 feet (3 meters) of someone, you should smile and make eye contact. When you are within 5 feet (1.5 meters) of someone, you should greet them with a friendly hello or other greeting.

What is the 10 5 10 rule? ›

Chew well and eat slowly — Why? Yes, this is the first instruction we are given as toddlers learning to eat. I didn't know the reasoning behind it until Marcia explained in this program. 10–5–10 rule: Eat for 10 minutes, take a break for 5 minutes — a complete halt on eating, and resume for another 10 minutes.

What is the 10 and 5 staff rule? ›

The '10 and five' rule in hospitality says that staff coming within 10 feet of a guest should smile and make eye contact, while those coming within five feet should add a warm verbal greeting.

What is an example of the 10 rule? ›

Only a small amount, or 10 percent, of energy moves from one trophic level to the next. This is known as the 10 percent rule. It limits the number of trophic levels an ecosystem can support. For example, when a primary consumer eats a primary producer, the consumer only gets 10 percent of the producer's energy.

What are the 10 and 5 rights? ›

Players who have accrued 10 years of Major League service time and spent the past five consecutive years with the same team are awarded 10-and-5 rights. Under these circ*mstances, a player can veto any trade scenario that is proposed.

What is the 10 rule formula? ›

Step 1: Identify the population size, , and calculate 10% of the population size, . Step 2: Identify the sample size, . Step 3: Compare the sample size to 10% of the population size. If n ≤ 0.1 N then the 10% rule is satisfied.

What is the point of the 10 10 rule? ›

If the marriage and military service overlap for 10 years or more, the non-military spouse may receive a share of the service member's retirement pay directly from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), which is the entity responsible for military pay and benefits.

What is the 10 and 10 rule? ›

The framework is simple: before you make a decision, ask yourself three questions: 10 minutes from now, how will I feel about this decision? 10 months from now, how will I feel about this decision? 10 years from now, how will I feel about this decision?

What is an example of the rule of 10? ›

For example, in a forest ecosystem, the grass could get 100,00 Joules of energy from the Sun. The primary consumers that eat the plants can only get 10,000 Joules from the plants.

What is the 10/5/3 rule in hospitality? ›

At 10 feet: Look up from what you are doing and acknowledge the guest with direct eye contact and a nod. At 5 feet: Smile, with your lips and eyes. At 3 feet*: Verbally greet the guest and offer a time-of-day greeting (“Good morning”).

What is the 10 5 3 rule? ›

The 10-5-3 rule can be used as a general principle for diversifying your investment portfolio. It suggests that 10% of your portfolio should be allocated to high-risk, high-reward investments, 5% to medium-risk investments, and 3% to low-risk investments.

What is the 5 10 rule in customer service? ›

Within ten feet or so of a customer, you should acknowledge them with a facial expression. I add to that. It should be a smile! And within five feet or so of the customer, you should acknowledge them verbally.

What are the 5 code of ethics in nursing? ›

The 5 nursing ethic codes are: nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, justice, and privacy/confidentiality.

What is the 10 5 rule medical? ›

The rule dictates that when a staff member is 10 feet from a guest, the staff smiles and makes direct eye contact, and when they are within five feet, the staff verbally greets the guest. Applying this principle to nursing homes is a simple, inexpensive way to enrich patient and staff lives.

What is the golden rule in nursing? ›

Our day-to-day routines as nurses at the hospital can be scary, significant, life-changing events for patients. We need to remember and implement the Golden Rule-treat each patient as we would like to be treated-by taking a moment to ask, "How are you feeling?" and then listen well.

What is the rule of 3 in nursing? ›

The rule of three that can be used by the preceptor here is "How is the patient the same, better, or worse than yesterday?". What is the evidence that the nurse needs to know to answer that question? The rule of three can be used to delineate roles and responsibilities in a patient's plan of care.

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