The project reported in this article uses a Pod Nursing (PN) care delivery model to enhance patient-nurse proximity and a team-based patient assignment to improve select nurse and patient outcomes.
The objective of this project was to incorporate evidence-based practice into a project to improve nursing unit efficiency.
A unit-based quality improvement project that included nursing unit leadership and staff began by identifying outcomes of importance and outcomes of interest to guide their efforts. Outcomes of importance included improved patient satisfaction, lower fall rates, and improved nurse satisfaction. Outcomes of interest included decreased frequency of call lights, improved teamwork and communication, balanced patient acuity, and reduced use of overtime.
After implementation of the PN model of care, improvements in nursing satisfaction, reduction in the number of call lights per month, and decreased fall rates were noted. The response rate for the nursing questionnaire was 39.6%. Questionnaire responses indicated that 32% of respondents reported improvement in communication. While 84.2% agree that acuity remains a concern with the PN model, 68.4% indicated the PN care delivery model should remain. Incremental overtime did decrease with the implementation of PN. From a design perspective, staff nurses reported a reduction in excessive walking and patients benefitted from having staff more visible and available. Continued assessment should be done to see if results hold constant.
Limitations of this project include its observational nature, small sample size, low response to the nursing survey, and lack of comparison to other units.