Inpatient Observation Safety Assistant Practices

Author

Jennifer KnightFollow

Date of Award

Fall 12-17-2021

Document Type

DNP Project

Project Team Faculty Member

Dr. Kelly Mc Guire

Project Team Faculty Member

Dr. Sheri McBride - Compton

Keywords

Patient safety assistant, observation patient, sitter patient monitoring, inpatient observation monitoring, best practices of inpatient observation monitoring

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction. Sitter usage is a patient safety practice used across healthcare organizations and the world. Sitters go by many other names, such as patient safety assistants, patient care assistants, care partners, and observation partners. There is literature that supports different variations of practices in healthcare facilities. A scoping review of the literature revealed multiple initiatives to reduce sitter cost and observation through nurse empowerment.

Purpose of Root Cause Analysis. The purpose of this root cause analysis is to determine why personnel inconsistently use the sitter policy. The appraised data will be used to improve the sitter process at this agency.

Conceptual Model or Theory. Joanne Duffy's Quality Caring Model guides this root cause analysis and professional practices. This theory will simultaneously recommend nursing interventions and better understand the patient sitter process through collaboration and interactive relationships.

Methods. Email sent to registered nurses with QR code link to participate in an online survey questionnaire with a maximum of 21 Likert-scale and open-ended questions related to the agency sitter policy/ algorithm process.

Results. The analyzed results from Qualtrics showed 45.7% of the staff feel that the sitter policy is hard to locate. Also, 87% of the staff recommended it would be easier to find if built into Epic.

Conclusion. The Sitter Policy/ algorithm is hard to locate. Future work will involve placing the sitter policy/ algorithm on all computer desktops and providing education related to more accessible access to the policy.

Recommended Citation

Knight, Jennifer, "Inpatient Observation Safety Assistant Practices" (2021). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 179.
https://spark.siue.edu/dnpprojects/179

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