Dedicated education units: Redirecting for success.

This process paper describes the evolution and growth of Dedicated Education Units through an academic-practice partnership at a college of nursing and urban medical center. This collaboration marked a period of rapid expansion from a single unit pilot dedicated education unit to five within a six-year timeframe. During the expansion from the pilot phase to creation of the dedicated units, it was determined that success in one unit did not translate to success in others. Using Tuckman's Group Development Theory as a lens for analysis of barriers and facilitators, suggested oversight and monitoring parameters were identified and include: (1) a dedicated clinical faculty coordinator is a necessity; (2) clearly defined dedicated education unit vision and goals need to be articulated to all; (3) a unit must commit to providing dedicated education unit clinical experiences only; (4) designated resources are needed for attending to staff and student scheduling requirements; (6) established and barrier-free clinical instructor educational support for nurse educator transition; (7) an objective evaluation plan with established benchmarks, (8) a need to evaluate the coordinator role as partnerships expand to multiple units, and (9) awareness of potential storming among new and experienced dedicated education units.

Impact of Nurse-Led Interprofessional Rounding on Patient Experience.

Interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) was recommended to improve siloed and fragmented patient care. The Institute of Medicine recommended nurses lead this change through innovative models of patient-centered care and IPCP participation. One strategy to improve patient experience is rounding. This project presents a nurse-led interprofessional bedside rounding model to improve communication and collaboration between providers and with patients on a complex inpatient unit. Outcomes were analyzed using Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores to examine patient experience. Postimplementation results demonstrate an increase in HCAHPS patient experience scores for this patient population above hospital and national average.

One institution's experience in implementing protocols for glycemic management.

The objective for monitoring blood glucose is to determine the need for intervention. This article describes an institution's comprehensive program of protocols and education initiated to manage inpatient hyperglycemia.