Nursing Sensitive Indicators Essay

b. Restraints should be used as a last resort on patients that are at a high risk for hurting either themselves or others. If this particular hospital is found to be overusing their restraints, they should look into why this is happening and where it is happening most often. What is the patient to staff ratio? Are acuities being considered when staffing the unit? If restraints are being overused, maybe a shortage of staff could be to blame.

By carrying out an assessment nurses can identify the causes of problems that require medical involvement. Nettina (2006)

This paper will explore a clinical practice guideline from the National Guideline Clearinghouse and will focus on hospital-acquired- pressure ulcers. The development of hospital -acquired pressure ulcers are a great concern in today’s health care. Pressure ulcer treatment is costly, and the development of ulcers is prevented by the used of evidence-based nursing practice. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2008), announces that they will no longer pay for additional costs incurred for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. The development of stage 111 and the 1V ulcer is considered a “never event” Therefore, this new change has resulted in an increased focus on preventive measures and institutional scrutiny of pressure

Nursing-sensitive indicators consist out of three categories that include the following: Structure, process and outcome. Structure refers to the organizational aspect of nursing that is made up of staffing levels; experience vs inexperience; educational levels or the make-up staffing at any point on the unit or facility. The Process is aspect of policies and procedures at the facility and Outcomes are determined when greater levels of nursing care and quantity are involved with better patient outcomes (ANA, 2015).

Nursing-sensitive indicators reflect the structure, process, and outcomes of nursing care. (Nursing-Sensitive, 2014.) The skill level of the nursing staff, the supply of nursing staff, and the education or certifications of the staff are all used to measure the structure of nursing care given to any given patient. Patient outcomes, which are improved by a greater quality of care, are said to be nursing sensitive. Some examples of

Nursing-sensitive indicators reflect the structure, process and outcomes of nursing care. The structure of nursing care is indicated by the supply of nursing staff, the skill level of the nursing staff, and the education/certification of nursing staff. Process indicators measure aspects of nursing care such as assessment, intervention, and RN job satisfaction. Patient outcomes that are determined to be nursing sensitive are those that improve if there is a greater quantity or quality of nursing care (e.g.,

Without understanding nurse sensitive indicators, nurses would have no way to identify and address serious problems like patient cooperation or risk of infection or injury.

A. Nurse sensitive indicators are factors that are directly impacted by nursing.  There indicators fall into three categories; structure, process and outcomes of nursing care.  The structure indicators are the organizational piece of nursing care. These relates to the amount of staff on duty at a given time, how many RN's are on duty and experience level of the staff. For example, evidence indicates institutions with a higher number of RN’s possessing a Bachelor Degree in nursing result in improved patient outcomes. The process indicators measure nursing care such as patient assessment, patient care and intervention. These are the organizational policies and procedures of nursing.   The patient outcomes are indicators directly related to

are a nursing-sensitive indicator which can lead to patient dissatisfaction, maybe not realized by the patient with

The knowledge of nursing sensitive indicator can be helpful in providing the patient care which meets the quality and ethical standards. Nursing sensitive indicators rely on evidence to take patient care decisions (Patrician, 2010). According to Patrician (2010), Evidence Based Nursing is the use of personal expertise and research to take decisions on patient care. In case of Mr. J, there is a clear lack of evidence based nursing. Mr. J was kept in restraint without considering that Mr. J was not trying to get out of bed by himself. When the pressure ulcer was identified, the nurse

Pressure ulcers during a hospital admission are preventable. Assessment and early intervention can stop skin breakdown before it begins. Many factors regarding Mr. J’s condition placed him at a high risk regarding nursing indicators. Mild dementia, recent fall and a fractured hip all require a high level of nursing care and indicates preventative practice. Upon assessment, precautions should be in place to deter further complications. The elderly are more

However, only 10% of nurses actually complete accurate inspections of the skin during their initial physical assessments of the patients (Lahmann et al., 2010). As a result, patients who are at risk of developing pressure ulcers are often overlooked by nursing staff.

Nursing-sensitive indicators can be an important tool in identifying patient care issues that could potentially arise during a hospital stay. By analyzing the data on specific nursing-sensitive indicators, the quality of patient care can be optimized and patient satisfaction can be improved. The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) are two sources of information and guidelines for nurses and nurse managers to use in planning patient care and workloads for each nursing unit. The use of available resources, staffing by acuity and patient needs, appropriate referral indicators, and cooperation

The negligence of this incident had a negative impact on the patient’s family members. Approximately 25% of cases involving medical negligence involve poor nursing care. Another negative aspect was patient’s family follow up was poor resulting in lack of importance highlighted on the pressure wounds. Ashley (2003) states nurses can be sued for malpractice, this means he or she is being sued for “negligence”. Furthermore, the nursing health professionals can lose its credibility among a community as they failed to provide a holistic care for the patient. However, a positive outcome was nurses were able to reflect among this evidence based practice to assist in better quality in patient

Not all patients are capable of independently identifying and articulate their care needs, so the nurse also adapts the role as an advocate. Clarity and continuity in a trusting environment enables good communication. Progressive identification of needs takes place as nurse and patient communicate with one another in the interpersonal relationship (Peplau 1988, p. 84). Being considerate to the needs and vulnerability of patients is a moral attribute, as nurses are accountable for the care they deliver.