Evaluating the statistics of the same study, Kane et al (2007) also explored what would happen in instances where additional patients were added to a RNs assignment. The study indicated that 1 additional patient was associated with an 8% increased chance of hospital mortality. This increase of 1 patient per RN also related to a 7% increase of hospital-acquired pneumonia, 8% increase of failure to rescue (assuming a code situation), a 53% increase in respiratory failure, a 45% increase in unplanned extubations and a 16% increase in cardio-pulmonary arrest (Kane et al., 2007).
A concise review performed by Penoyer in 2010 demonstrated a positive association of proper nurse staffing in the ICU with better patient outcomes. The nursing units …show more content…
The charge nurses would have the opportunity to collectively discuss the model and relay their thoughts or concerns. After the initial meeting, a concise word document with thoughts and concerns of the staff would be created for future reference.
A final meeting to review the concerns and potential solutions would be addressed prior to initiation of the trial period. Special consideration would be conveyed to the staff that the tool would aid in their judgement of assigning patients, but not replace it. Anticipating a potential resistance to using the protocol would be expected, especially in a unit that had no prior experience with an acuity tool. This resistance would be met with education of the current literature and reassuring that the model would be on a trial run basis before anything would be permanent.
Printed versions of the acuity scale protocol would be produced for staff usage. For the trial run, all bedside and charge nurses would be required to fill out 1 acuity scale on the same patient in the unit per shift for a time period of 30 days. The patient to be evaluated each shift will be done so randomly by the charge nurse on duty. …show more content…
The tool is not only limited to shift change, but can be used by the bedside nurse throughout the shift so assignments may be adjusted accordingly. On the mesosystem level, this tool becomes a large part of how the charge nurse will make decisions going forth. The tool will require extra effort from the charge nurses, but should provide a helpful variable in their clinical practice. On the macrosystem level, the ICU Director will be able to use the acuity tool to advocate a need to hire more staff with the approval of administration. Due to the high stress of ICU nursing, turnaround is often a problem for directors. The acuity tool and associated research would provide concrete information to show the need for additional staffing and how it positively affects patient outcomes. The acuity tool will help to decrease adverse events in the ICU which will ultimately decrease the mortality rate of patients unit
A concise review performed by Penoyer in 2010 demonstrated a positive association of proper nurse staffing in the ICU with better patient outcomes. The nursing units …show more content…
The charge nurses would have the opportunity to collectively discuss the model and relay their thoughts or concerns. After the initial meeting, a concise word document with thoughts and concerns of the staff would be created for future reference.
A final meeting to review the concerns and potential solutions would be addressed prior to initiation of the trial period. Special consideration would be conveyed to the staff that the tool would aid in their judgement of assigning patients, but not replace it. Anticipating a potential resistance to using the protocol would be expected, especially in a unit that had no prior experience with an acuity tool. This resistance would be met with education of the current literature and reassuring that the model would be on a trial run basis before anything would be permanent.
Printed versions of the acuity scale protocol would be produced for staff usage. For the trial run, all bedside and charge nurses would be required to fill out 1 acuity scale on the same patient in the unit per shift for a time period of 30 days. The patient to be evaluated each shift will be done so randomly by the charge nurse on duty. …show more content…
The tool is not only limited to shift change, but can be used by the bedside nurse throughout the shift so assignments may be adjusted accordingly. On the mesosystem level, this tool becomes a large part of how the charge nurse will make decisions going forth. The tool will require extra effort from the charge nurses, but should provide a helpful variable in their clinical practice. On the macrosystem level, the ICU Director will be able to use the acuity tool to advocate a need to hire more staff with the approval of administration. Due to the high stress of ICU nursing, turnaround is often a problem for directors. The acuity tool and associated research would provide concrete information to show the need for additional staffing and how it positively affects patient outcomes. The acuity tool will help to decrease adverse events in the ICU which will ultimately decrease the mortality rate of patients unit