| Primary Author: | Jessica Shelton, RN, BSN |
| Co-Principal Investigators/Collaborators: | Nedine Rowe, RN, Ashley McCann, RN, BSN |
| Organization | Annie Penn Hospital Reidsville NC |
Abstract
Purpose
On a medical-surgical/telemetry unit, will consistently assign nurses to a particular zone compared to previous method of nurse assignment, to determine the impact on patient care delivery and satisfaction.
Background
A 39 bed medical-surgical/telemetry department determined a need for improving care delivery and increasing patient satisfaction. Shared governance designed, implemented, and evaluated a plan assigning each nurse to a particular zone on the department.
Materials & Methods
The Shared Governance committee developed a staffing plan assigning each nurse a zone including 5-6 patient rooms. After staff approval, they received education on the purpose and process prior to implementation. The charge nurse made shift assignments based on the zones. There was a master list that had each nurse listed in their particular zone. The project began on July 1, 2011.
Results
Effectiveness was evaluated by comparing results of Press-Ganey Patient Satisfaction surveys prior to and after implementation of zones. Increased patient satisfaction was evidenced by an increase from 87.2 to 89.5 in “Nurses kept the patient informed” and an increase from 89 to 91 in “Nurses paid attention to special needs”. Improved patient care and safety was evidenced by medication errors decreased from 10, prior to implementation, to 6 the quarter after implementation. An unexpected outcome was an increase in staff satisfaction from 90 to 93.1 in “Staff worked together as a team to care for the patient”.
Conclusion
Assigning nursing staff to particular zone improves patient care delivery, patient satisfaction, and nursing staff satisfaction. Nurse-patient relationships are formed providing continuity of care and improved patient satisfaction.
© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012
The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).