Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me? Not true. In their book, I’m Sorry to Hear That: Real-Life Responses to Patients’ 101 Most Common Complaints (Fire Starter Publishing), Susan Keane Baker and Leslie Bank acknowledge the power of words and provide advice on how to use them to heal rather than injure.

To help health care workers find the right words for responding to complaints from patients that could escalate to more serious confrontation, the authors offer three suggested responses, many of which begin with the words, “I’m sorry.” Baker and Bank aren’t nurses, but both have been involved with patients and health care throughout their careers and, in the process, have gained insights that apply to all health care providers.

Susan Baker

Baker, a member of the board of examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2008 and a commissioner on the Connecticut State Commission on Medicolegal Investigations, served for 17 years as vice president of hospitals in New York and Connecticut and, for seven years, directed the Quality Initiatives Program for a national, 19-million member PPO. She is also the author of Managing Patient Expectations: The Art of Finding and Keeping Loyal Patients.

Leslie Bank

Bank, director of customer service at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, began her health care career as a physical therapist before turning her attention to billing reform and becoming known as a change agent and “the mother of patient-friendly billing.” She has authored two commercial customer-service videos and has received national awards for improvement in patient satisfaction.

The intriguing title of their book, I’m Sorry to Hear That, caught my attention, and I arranged a phone interview.

—James E. Mattson, editor, Reflections on Nursing Leadership