Hourly Rounds Schedules for Nurses Improve Patient Satisfaction

A nurse-led study at an acute-care hospital in Houston found that overall patient satisfaction may be improved when nurses adopt hourly rounds schedules, but more research is needed to clearly define the benefit of hourly rounds to patients. The study was conducted at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, where nurses on one unit engaged in a standard hourly rounding process to see if it would improve efficiencies, patient satisfaction, and quality and safety metrics, reports EndoNurse.

The study, published in National Association for Healthcare Quality’s Journal for Healthcare Quality, is based on data collected over six months in two 32-bed cardiovascular surgery nursing units at the hospital. Nurses on the control unit proceeded with rounds as they had before. The research team was led by Rebecca Kreppler, a professor at the College of Nursing at Texas Women’s University in Houston.

The team examined weekly readmission rates, number of patient falls, patient satisfaction questionnaires, the number of steps nurses walked in a shift (to measure efficiency of care), total number of call lights used by patients, and a nursing staff survey.

The most significant difference between the two units was in how often patients used their call lights. Patients in the intervention unit used their call lights less than patients on the control unit, and also indicated in surveys that they were satisfied with how quickly call lights were answered. Kreppler noted however, that because hourly rounding was only one of several quality improvement strategies employed in the units, more research was needed to see the direct impact it may have on patient outcomes, according to Endo Nurse.

Nurse Navigator Intervention in Cancer Treatment Effective and Efficient

A new study finds that nurse navigators provide crucial emotional support and guidance for people diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, patients report significantly fewer problems with care as a result of nurse intervention.

The study, “Nurse Navigators in Early Cancer Care: A Randomized, Controlled Trial,” was published in the November Journal of Clinical Oncology. It focused on whether nurse navigator intervention improved quality of life and patient experience for 251 adults recently given a diagnosis of breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. 

Researchers found that patients who had access to a nurse navigator soon after diagnosis reported feeling that they had better emotional support, were better informed, and were more involved in their care, Medscape Medical News reports. Patient outcomes typically improve when patients are more involved in their care and self-care, researchers said.

For the study, 118 participants were randomly assigned to receive oncology nurse navigator support and 133 received enhanced usual care (the control group). Patients in the intervention group received weekly phone calls from a nurse navigator and met with that nurse in person at least once during the four-week period. The control group received educational material designed by a patient advisory committee.

Nurse Navigator Intervention Effective and Efficient

Patients in the nurse navigator group reported significantly better scores on the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care and had significantly fewer problems with care, especially psychosocial care, care coordination, and information, according to the study.

The intervention also yielded an unanticipated cost benefit. While cumulative costs after diagnosis did not differ significantly between the two groups; costs were $6,852 less for lung cancer patients in the nurse navigator group.

The nurse navigators involved in the trial had previous experience with cancer patients and received special training to deal with psychosocial distress, which may have been factors in the success of the interventions, according to Edward H. Wagner, MD, MPH, the lead author. Wagner is senior investigator at Group Health Research Institute.

The benefits for disadvantaged patients may be even greater than those found in this study, researchers said. The trial intervention participants were generally well educated, insured, and of higher income.

Longer Shifts for Nurses Lead to Burnout & Patient Dissatisfaction

A new study published in Health Affairs has found that longer shifts for nurses not only cause job dissatisfaction, but also make patients more likely to be unhappy with the care they have received from nurses.

A team from the University of Pennsylvania has demonstrated that nurses working 10 hour shifts (or longer) were up to 2.5 times more likely than nurses with shorter shifts to experience job dissatisfaction and burnout.

Click here to read about the study on Nurse.com.
Click here to access the abstract on the Health Affairs website.

Op-Ed In The Huffington Post Highlights the Significance of Nurses

Earlier this morning Brian Secemsky, M.D., a resident physician in internal medicine at UCSF Medical Center, emphasized the importance of recognizing nurses' integral role in the delivery of team-based care. Dr. Secemsky highlighted just a few of the roles that nurses play in the delivery of care, and how these roles improve the patient and provider experience.

To read Dr. Secemsky's full Op-Ed, click here.

How Hospital Noise Harms Health

A study investigating how hospital noises may disrupt sleep and potentially have a negative effect on patient health has gained national attention this morning. The study, which was published in the June edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine, simulated typical noises that would be found in a hospital on twelve healthy adults. They found that these noises can be disruptive and have an adverse effect on patients who may not be in the best of health. This study could play a crucial role for how hospitals are designed and influence policies that are implemented in order to reduce the amount of noise patients are exposed to during the evening.

How can nurses play an integral role in reducing noise in order to better serve patients?

To read more about the study, click here.

To access the abstract and full text of the study (subscription required), click here.

New Nursing Program Promises to Advance Patient Care Quality and Safety

Yesterday, the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing announced the acceptance of a new grant, funded by The Helene Fuld Health Trust of New York, that will prepare 200 new clinical nurses over the next five years in quality improvement and patient safety that is firmly grounded in leadership development. This initiative will specifically focus on the vulnerable elderly population, who are the responsibile for a high percentage of redadmissions in hospitals nationwide. This education intiative aligns with recommendations to bolster the nursing workforce made in IOM's Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report.

Click here to read the news article.

Click here to read other blogposts related to the IOM's report.

Nurse Midwives Empower Patients With Delivery Options

Yesterday, Linda Friedel, reporting for Kansas City Community News, detailed the strong bonds nurse midwives foster with patients. The article, which included personal reflections of different certified nurse midwives experiences, discussed the varying roles midwives play throughout their patients' pregnancy and how this role contributes to patient empowerment and autonomy.

Click here to read the full article.

Patient-care Study Listens To The Kids

Following up on a post from last week, Misti Crane, of The Columbus Dispatch, reported on the results of an INQRI supported study that examined children's satisfaction with nursing care. The study, conducted by INQRI grantee, Dr. Nancy Ryan-Wenger, found that children were concerned about how often a nurse checked on them and explained instances when children might feel sad, scared or annoyed when nurses did things that hurt, or when they woke them up. This article also featured a snippet from Heather Kelley, INQRI Program Associate, in which she discussed the importance of measuring quality through patient satisfaction.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to learn more about this and similar studies INQRI has supported that focus on nurses' role in managing and treating pain.