INCREASED COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NURSES AND DOCTORS ON AN ACUTE MEDICAL UNIT

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nurse-physician rounding is crucial to safe, effective care and to maintain open communication between the multidisciplinary healthcare team. Currently there is no protocol that encourages nurses to attend physician rounds. The lack of nurse-physician rounding is a potential area for medical error due to lack of communication and collaboration among the healthcare team.</p> <p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The focus of this study is to increase communication between the nurses and doctors on an acute medical unit by increasing nurse attendance and participation at physician rounds.</p> <p><strong>Methodology: </strong>Surveys were a key component in the methodology of this project. Surveys were distributed to the entire RN staff on the acute medical unit prior to implementing a structured rounding process. Surveys were also distributed post-implementation.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Post survey results indicated that of those who responded, 58% agreed or strongly agreed that communication with the attending physician(s) and teams increased. The remaining 42% neither agreed nor disagreed. 50% of the nurses worked at least 3 shifts within the past week. When asked if the nurses feel less likely to page the physician(s) when they attend physician rounds, 75% chose no.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Results confirm that nurse-physician rounding increases communication between the nurses and doctors. Attendance and communication has increased since the team rounds have been implemented, however paging the physician is still a part of care that occurs on a regular basis.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Level thesis:degree_level

Project/Capstone - Global access

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Linebarger, Nina

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/83

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.usfca.edu:capstone-1086