Nurse Leader Rounds: Effect on Nurse - Related Patient Satisfaction Scores on Two Post-Surgical Units in an Acute Care Facility

Abstract

Background and Significance: The best possible inpatient experience is a priority for many hospitals in today’s model of healthcare delivery. Achieving and sustaining measurable success is a key challenge. Nurse leader rounds (NLR) has been revealed to be an effective improvement strategy in some hospitals. The purpose of this DNP project was to analyze the impact of implementing daily NLR on patient satisfaction (PS) scores in two postsurgical units at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (MSBI) hospital in New York. Methods: This study used descriptive comparison to analyze existing survey data before and after NLR was implemented. The study took place in an academic, urban, tertiary care hospital in two postsurgical units. Data were collected using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey reflecting questions to measure patient’s perceptions of care, specifically, assessing the nurse related communication to examine if there was a relationship between NLR and PS scores. Results: Patient perception data summarized in this study suggested that the implementation of NLR was associated with increased levels of patient satisfaction with communication (SC) with nurses following NLR in the inpatient setting on two post-surgical units. The results indicated significant difference between the pre and post scores of SC in nurse related questions referring to communication (Appendix A). Conclusion: Effective implementation of NLR can improve patient perception of care. Improvements in nurse communica