Introduction

In this paper, we present a critique of the work of Blackley, Kroth and Gregson (2011) titled “The Impact of Nurse Rounding on Patient Satisfaction in a Medical-Surgical Hospital Unit.” This specific study was led by a chief nursing officer (James Gregson, EdD, a professor of Adult, Career, and Technology Education at University of Idaho) as well as a patient advocate of West Valley Medical Center, a community hospital. The aim of the study was to determine the exact impact of nursing rounding on patients in the hospital’s medical-surgical unit. The analysis is carried out with due reference to the relevant nursing theories. The paper has an appropriate thesis statement at the introduction chapter. The authors clearly stated the aim and objectives of the paper.

Background of study:

Problem (why this issued is being studied)

Nursing rounding is an issue that is being studied because patient satisfaction has over the last couple of years become a high priority for most healthcare facilities that face increased pressure to maintain top clinical care, high quality service as well as excellent financial visibility (Ellison, & Feghali, 2008).

Significance to nursing

The significance of the concept of nursing rounding to nursing is its ability to improve the perceived level of patient satisfaction with nursing services. According to Deitrick et al (2012) systematic approach to nursing rounding can help in approving patient’s experience of care while also building trust that ensures that nursing care is reliable and safe. Pressure is therefore alleviated on the nurses.

Purpose

The purpose of Blackley, Kroth and Gregson (2011)’s study was to effectively determine if nurse and patient satisfaction is in any way influenced by intentional nurse rounding that is carried out every two hours on a hospital’s medical-surgical unit in a rather small community hospital setting.

Objectives: research question and/or hypothesis

The objectives of the study were numerous. They included the following.

To determine the impact of intentional, regular, as well as consistent nurse rounding on a patient’s satisfaction with his/her hospital experience

To determine the impact of nursing rounding on the patient care from the nursing staff’s perspective

To determine the extent to which nurses experience less call light usage if they perform regular rounding on patients

To determine the extent to which nurses find the rounding process helpful in their professional practice

To determine if patients report a more positive hospital experience if nurses perform nursing rounds regularly

To determine the extent to which patients report more effective pain management if nurses round regularly?

To determine the effects of nurse rounding on medication administration

To determine the extent to which patients report their nurse demonstrated care and concern during their hospitalization if their nurse rounded regularly

Concepts, phenomena

The main concept or phenomena in this study was nursing rounding. Rounding is noted by Tea et al., (2008) to be a process that involves the proactive meeting of most if not all of a patient’s needs by means of routine visits to their rooms by a nurse to check on certain specific items as well as perform certain basic self-care tasks on a rather regular and consistent fashion. Nurse rounding presents the nurses with an opportunity for nurses to involve patients in their daily care as well as show concern and care for the patient’s healing and well-being.

Methods of study:

The case study method was used as the research design, framework, and methodology. According to Cresswell (2007), case study method is usually use din health science and medical research and is basically based on the post-positivist approach with an emphasis on meticulous multiple data collection techniques. For this study, case study method was chosen since it allowed the researcher an opportunity to explore abounded system (in this case, nursing staff and patients on a medical-surgical unit). The researcher performed an in-depth data collection from multiple sources of information (survey reports, interviews, observations, and questionnaires) and then a final generation of a case-based descriptive report. The project employed an action research project procedure. This means that it involved a systematic investigation that was aimed at enabling the researcher to find credible solutions to common everyday problems (Stringer, 2007). The study participants were inpatients who had been in the hospital for the last six months and members of the hospital’s medical-surgical staff.

Results of study:

What did they find?

The study found that after the introduction of the 4 P rounding program, the patients experienced an increased level of satisfaction with the nursing care that was being provided. They described the staff as considerate, kind, and compassionate. The 4 P rounding program resulted in better communication among the nurses, encouraged teamwork and improved quality of healthcare.

Implications to nursing

As noted earlier, the significance of the concept of nursing rounding to nursing is its ability to improve the perceived level of patient satisfaction with nursing services .A systematic approach to nursing rounding can help in approving patient’s experience of care while also building trust that ensures that nursing care is reliable and safe. The process can also improve communication among the nurses, encouraged teamwork, and improved quality of healthcare.

Explain how the findings contribute to nursing knowledge/science. Would it impact practice, education, administration, or all areas of nursing?

The findings would significantly improve existing evidence-based practice in nursing care by providing nurses with a sure method of improving patient’s level of satisfaction with nursing care. It would also add significant information on existing scholarship on patient satisfaction.

Ethical Considerations

The study was fully approved by the University of Idaho Institutional Review Board. Additionally, West Valley Medical Center’s administration reviewed as well as approved the study. Patient privacy was protected. The ethical considerations were was all taken care of as evidenced by the two approvals.

Conclusion

This study helps us in realizing the importance of nurse rounding and how it contributed to better quality of care in community hospital settings. The main challenge however, lies in ways of implementing nursing rounding program such as the 4 P rounding program at medical-surgical unit of West Valley Medical Center.

References

Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Blakely,D.,Kroth,M.,Gregson,J.(2011)The impact of nurse rounding on patient satisfaction in a medical‐surgical hospital unit.MEDSURGNursing,20,327‐332

Deitrick, L., Paxton, H. & Swavely, D. (2012). Hourly rounding: Challenges with implementation of an evidence-based process.Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 27 (1), 13-19.

Stringer, E.T. (2007). Action research(3rd ed.)Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Tea, C., Ellison, M., & Feghali, F. (2008).Proactive patient rounding to increase customer service and satisfaction on an orthopaedic unit. Orthopedic Nursing,27(4), 233-240