First Advisor

Whalen, Kathleen

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

School

Loretto Heights School of Nursing

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

130 pages

Abstract

Communication problems have been cited as the “top safety incident” causing patient harm in intensive care units (Halm, 2008). Many concerns related to interdisciplinary communication and collaboration were found in a small, satellite critical care unit of a major teaching facility. This led to missed patient care goals and opportunities for improved patient outcomes, as well as increased length of stay. The researcher used a convenience sample of 40 nurses and advanced care providers and a mixed methods quasi-experimental pre/post survey design to explore whether multidisciplinary rounds utilizing a rounding tool would improve communication and collaboration between advanced care providers and nursing staff, as well as improve understanding of the daily goals of patient care. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed yielding mixed results with both positive and negative attributes to interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. Overall, the study supported the use of daily multidisciplinary rounds in the critical care setting utilizing the Daily Goals Sheet to increase interdisciplinary communication and collaboration and improve understanding of the daily goals of patient care, when compared with rounds not using the Daily Goals Sheet. Major limitations of the study were the small sample size and increased workload and staff resistance in using the Daily Goals Sheet and completing the surveys. The most significant implication of this study is that the researcher plans to continue integration of the Daily Goals Sheet into the research study site’s new computer system, as well as to continue future research in this quality improvement area.

Date of Award

Spring 2016

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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