Publication Date

Spring 2016

Degree Type

Doctoral Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Ruth Rosenblum

Keywords

Interprofessional rounding, Multidisciplinary rounds, Nursing input

Abstract

Interprofessional rounding has become a standard in intensive care units. Healthcare organizations such as The Joint Commission (2013) and the Institute of Medicine (2010) promote interprofessional teamwork with the goal of improving patient safety and outcomes. The 2010 IOM report, The Future of Nursing – Leading Change, Advancing Health discusses the need for all nurses to work as part of an interprofessional team to improve healthcare. Interprofessional rounding offers a venue for nurses to demonstrate their role as an equal member of the healthcare team. At the hospital of focus, there has been no previous formal attempt to measure the actual degree of nursing input during interprofessional rounds.

This study assessed the frequency and type of nursing input during individual interprofessional rounds. Further, the study utilized demographic information collected to determine if nursing characteristics affected the frequency of nurse input during rounds. A total of 63 individual Intensive Care Unit (ICU) rounds were included in this observational study with a matched questionnaire. The mean frequency of nursing input that focused on nursing-specific topics during rounds was 1.73 times. Nurses provided input on any topic a mean frequency of 2.56 times per round. There were no significant demographic characteristics that led to more frequent input during rounds. Seventy-one percent of nurses believed that their current rounding process was effective. The percentage of times nurses made recommendations leading to immediate orders or a change in the plan of care was 25.4.

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