The snowballing of the world population has paved the way for a booming patient visits to the hospitals. With the millennials taking over baby boomers, these individuals are most likely to queue up outside a doctor’s office because a decaying body is home to many ailments. To witness a calm hospital without any patient rushing for treatment is quite rare these days. It could be either the surgery or an emergency department; an enormous escalation in the footfall is evident.
People’s life is a priority for healthcare systems, and with a slight laxity, it can instigate fatalities and obscurities. Hospital management continuously strives for methods and means for improving the value of the healthcare system. Doctors and nurses contribute to a more considerable extent in the provision and enhancement of quality of care.
Refining patient care has become a primacy for all healthcare providers to accomplish a high degree of patient satisfaction. A patient will most likely revisit the same hospital upon receiving outstanding services during the first visit. The crux of a doctor’s proficiency lies in making diagnoses, planning treatments, and performing surgeries. Whereas, nurses are professionals that look after a patient all the time while they are at the hospital. The nurses are also in control of nourishing the health stability of a patient during extended hospital admissions.
Nurses regulate patient care throughout the healthcare systems. Nursing leadership has a noteworthy relation to the quality of care and patient consummation. Individuals with DNP education can join the field of nursing and provide quality care to a diverse population by implementing evidence-based knowledge.
Many extensive studies have catered and discussed the factors that can contribute to the quality of care. Among such factors, nursing practices counts a lot. Following are some of their practices that can help in achieving the desired patient outcomes.
- Robust relay of information
A swift transference of information regarding a patient amplifies the high care standard of a hospital. Nurses work in shifts; during a shift change, it is the critical element to communicate all the necessary details to the next shift personnel about a patient and their condition. In the course of a shift, nurses record and maintain the information about a patient’s health and assure accuracy. In the case of incomplete information or frail communication, there is a higher risk of neglecting patient care that may lead to complications. Incomprehensive shift changes generate a care gap, incorrect prescribed dosages of medications, surgical mistakes, and even fatalities.
- Inhibiting infections
Hospitals are booming with patients, and they also house many microorganisms that can find a way to any wound or patient. A study advocates that the rate of contracting an infection at the hospital is 4.5 out of 1000. Contracting a disease or septicity might prolong the stay of the patient, and in most cases, it worsens the ongoing treatment. Confirming nurses to follow standard evidence-based practices such as conducting hand hygiene, sterilizing tools, and decontaminating areas, neutralizes the possibility of contamination. Training nurses to follow strict hygienic routine shrinks the odds of nosocomial or hospital-acquired contagions.
- Frequent rounds and care calls
A patient may need a nurse’s assistance whenever they feel necessary by using the nurse call light or the intercom. Many nursing departments schedule the care-rounds to ease the patient’s call for a nurse. Care-rounds ensures the availability of a nurse after every while to check on patients and facilitate them with whatever assistance they may require. Concerning a hospital release, a patient often ignores the instruction of nurses about their medications or wound care in the excitement. With a care call, a nurse can ask the patient about any complication, or any information that they might need. The care calls play an active role in informing patients about their post-hospital care and can reduce emergency visits by 30 percent.
- Crafting viable procedures
Nurses shoulder the obligation of looking after patients, assisting doctors, maintaining records, and information. When a patient is in prolonged care, the floor nurse shall chalk out plans for patient care that are easy to understand and implement. Strong coordination with a doctor and responding timely with updated information can enhance the care factor ten folds and help in the quick recovery of a patient. While designing a patient’s care plan, a nurse can mention the goals and steps that they intend to apply. Conveying the procedure to the nursing staff diminishes the chances of miscommunication by keeping everyone in the information loop.
- In-depth knowledge of the system
For better patient outcomes and satisfaction, it is fundamental to have an in-depth awareness of the healthcare system. Involving nursing leadership while chalking out the maintenance and care strategies regarding patients can prove to be constructive. A nurse interrelates more often with patients and their families as compared to a doctor. Shifts rotations enable nurses to gather information about different floors of a hospital and observe the differences. These alternations facilitate nursing staff in mounting a sound knowledge about the system and patient care. The substantial understanding of hospital management and its operation might add valuable inputs in improvement plans.
Conclusion
The Healthcare system plays a remarkable role in maintaining the health and well-being of an individual and a society on the whole. Various researches suggest that involving the frontline healthcare providers in an improvement plan can make noticeable differences in the quality of care. Providing a better work environment also leads to lower adverse outcomes. Nurses are the core health providers; a competent nursing department can shape a hospital’s outcome and patient satisfaction. From effectively monitoring a patient’s medical stability and ensuring their safety, nursing practices can do wonders.
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