Case Study Investigation Decreases Burnout While Improving Interprofessional Teamwork, Nurse Satisfaction, and Patient Safety.

Prevention of burnout is a national imperative, and blame-free investigations of clinical events are advocated. Reflective inquiry techniques are helpful in processing adverse events while minimizing blame. The purpose of this project was to develop an interprofessional peer review program (Case Study Investigation) to process emotions, improve teamwork, and optimize patient outcomes. This evidence-based practice project was conducted in a 12-bed intensive care unit using reflective inquiry techniques to perform peer case review across disciplines. Significant improvements were seen in percent strongly agree to the 2 satisfaction questions asked: "I feel free to speak up regarding issues that may affect patient care" (increased from 37% to 73%, χ = 6.19, P < .05), and "There is open communication between physicians and nurses" (rose from 33% to 73%, χ = 7.53, P < .05). In total, 95% perceived improvement in interprofessional teamwork. Burnout decreased significantly at 6 months (n = 22, M = 18.40, SD = 3.36) from baseline scores (n = 27, M = 21.96, SD = 4.47), F2,72 = 4.48, P < .02. Central line-associated infections decreased from 3.6 per 1000 to 0 per 1000 catheter-days. Catheter-related urinary tract infections decreased from 2 per 1000 to 0 per 1000 patient-days. Both were sustained below benchmark. Reflective inquiry decreases nurse burnout while improving perceived interprofessional teamwork and employee satisfaction, and measurements of patient safety.

The Power of Family Engagement in Rounds: An Exemplar With Global Outcomes.

Family engagement in rounds has been recommended to improve communication, but its impact on patient outcomes is unknown. At the authors' institution, nurses encouraged family presence at rounds as part of a larger project to enhance communication during rounding. In the case reported here, family engagement resulted in a critical care patient's wife suggesting bacteriophage therapy, which led to her husband's survival. The wife's involvement provided unique insight into the patient's response to treatments and valuable suggestions regarding the treatment plan. Real-time communication among the nurse, family, and physician improved the accuracy and quality of shared information as well as the plan of care. This exemplar demonstrates how family engagement in rounds can not only optimize the outcomes of individual patients but also lead to medical and scientific advances. More research is needed to further elucidate the impact of families on treatment plans and outcomes.

Preoperative education on postoperative delirium, anxiety, and knowledge in pulmonary thromboendarterectomy patients.

BACKGROUND: Delirium is the most common postoperative psychiatric condition in intensive care settings and can lead to increased complications and costs. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of multifaceted preoperative patient education on postoperative delirium, anxiety, and knowledge and to explore predictors of postoperative delirium, days of mechanical ventilation, and days in the intensive care unit (ICU) in patients undergoing pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. METHOD: A prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted on consented patients from October 2011 to April 2013. Patients were randomized in a 1 to 1 ratio to receive either an individualized 45-minute multifaceted preoperative education (experimental group, n = 63) or standard education (control group, n = 66). Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Knowledge Test before and after the education. Data on incidence of delirium, days of mechanical ventilation, ICU days, and cardiopulmonary parameters were collected. RESULTS: The experimental group had significantly more knowledge about postoperative care (P< .001) and fewer days of mechanical ventilation (P = .04) than the control group. The 2 groups did not differ significantly in anxiety, incidence of delirium, or ICU days. In exploratory multivariate analyses, hearing impairment was a positive predictor for days of delirium (P = .009), days of mechanical ventilation (P< .001), and ICU days (P= .049), whereas the posttest knowledge was a negative predictor for days of mechanical ventilation (P = .02). CONCLUSION: The patient education appeared to be effective in improving knowledge and reducing days of mechanical ventilation. Hearing impairment was an unexpected predictor of adverse outcomes for patients but may be amenable to nursing intervention.