A complex population: Nurse's professional preparedness to care for medical-surgical patients with mental illness.

Globally, patients with the co-morbidity of physical and mental illness experience greater health complexities than the general population. Yet nurses caring for medical-surgical patients with a secondary diagnosis of mental illness are often unprepared for these complexities. This paper focuses on professional experiences from a more extensive parent study that evaluated components of nursing preparedness (nursing care self-efficacy and mental health care competency) to provide care for medical-surgical patients who also have mental illness. The parent study explored characteristics of variables (personal, educational and professional) more frequently associated with and more predictive of nursing preparedness. Discussed will be the findings from characteristics of professional experiences that best indicated nurse preparedness to care for medical-surgical patients with mental illness. A descriptive correlational design was used with a convenience sample of RNs (N = 260) from a tertiary health system in the south-eastern United States. Findings significantly indicated three characteristics of professional experiences - mentoring, frequency of care and continuing education - best prepare a registered nurse to care for this complex population. Further research is necessary to locate, grow and develop mentors and to construct accessible, affordable continuing education regarding care of this population for a prepared nursing workforce and work environment.

Evaluation of Telemetry Utilization on Medical-Surgical Units.

Alarm fatigue is the most common contributing factor in alarm-related sentinel events. Researchers have demonstrated a 35% overuse of telemetry, a key factor in alarm fatigue. This project evaluates practice patterns for the ordering and discontinuation of telemetry on medical-surgical units. Practice patterns were reviewed to determine if they aligned with the American Heart Association evidence-based practice guidelines for telemetry monitoring and whether the order indication was congruent with the patient's clinical status. Nurse's attitudes and practices related to alarm safety were evaluated.

Improving Geriatric Care Processes on Two Medical-Surgical Acute Care Units: A Pilot Study.

The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit model improves cognitive and functional outcomes for hospitalized elders but reaches a small proportion of patients. To disseminate ACE Unit principles, we piloted the "Virtual ACE Intervention" that standardizes care processes for cognition and function without daily geriatrician oversight on two non-ACE units. The Virtual ACE Intervention includes staff training on geriatric assessments for cognition and function and on nurse-driven care algorithms. Completion of the geriatric assessments by nursing staff in patients aged 65 years and older and measures of patient mobility and prevalence of an abnormal delirium screening score were compared preintervention and postintervention. Postintervention, the completion of the assessments for current functional status and delirium improved (62.5% vs. 88.5%, p < .001) and (4.2% vs. 96.5%, p < .001). In a subsample analysis, in the postintervention period, more patients were up to the chair in the past day (36.4% vs. 63.5%, p = .04) and the prevalence of an abnormal delirium screening score was lower (13.6% vs. 4.8%, p = .16). The Virtual ACE Intervention is a feasible model for disseminating ACE Unit principles to non-ACE Units and may lead to increased adherence to care processes and improved clinical outcomes.

Evaluating the Influence of a Standardized Bedside Handoff Process in a Medical-Surgical Unit.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety is a national and global concern. In the United States, medical errors result in more than 50,000 unnecessary patient deaths annually and contribute to billions of dollars in health care costs. The purpose of this project was to evaluate a standardized bedside handoff process and its influence in a medical-surgical unit. METHOD: A quality improvement project was performed in a medical-surgical unit and consisted of development, implementation, and evaluation of a standardized bedside handoff. The project included surveying nurses, a web-based educational program, and observations using the SBAR (T) competency checklist tool. Data were analyzed for trends. RESULTS: Results identified an improved perception of communication among the nurses as it relates to shift report and a reduction in length of handoff time after the education intervention. CONCLUSION: Continual nurse education and audits by nurse leaders are vital to the sustainment of positive outcomes. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(4):157-163.

Units of Distinction: Creating a Blueprint for Recognition of High-Performing Medical-Surgical Nursing Units.

BACKGROUND: Hospital medical-surgical (M/S) nursing units are responsible for up to 28 million encounters annually, yet receive little attention from professional organizations and national initiatives targeted to improve quality and performance. OBJECTIVE: We sought to develop a framework recognizing high-performing units within our large hospital system. METHODS: This was a retrospective data analysis of M/S units throughout a 168-hospital system. Measures represented patient experience, employee engagement, staff scheduling, nursing-sensitive patient outcomes, professional practices, and clinical process measures. RESULTS: Four hundred ninety units from 129 hospitals contributed information to test the framework. A manual scoring system identified the top 5% and recognized them as a "Unit of Distinction." Secondary analyses with machine learning provided validation of the proposed framework. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to external recognition programs, this framework and process provide a holistic evaluation useful for meaningful recognition and lay the groundwork for benchmarking in improvement efforts.

Emotional Competence: Demonstrated Performance.

Component behaviors of emotional competence and nurse develop- ment of an action plan to demonstrate performance of these behaviors are examined. The critical impact of emotional compe- tence on professional role satisfaction and on success of an organi- zation is explored.

Stroke Transitions of Care.

This quality improvement project focused on improving patient education and patient satisfaction, and reducing all-cause 30-day readmissions. A 72-hour discharge follow-up telephone call was completed in patients discharged home with diagnosis of stroke.

Care of LGBTQ Patients.

The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) is a professional organization whose mission is to validate excellence in medical-surgical nursing. MSNCB administers the Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN[R]) and Certified in Care Coordination and Transition Management (CCCTM) certification programs because certification is the recognized path for registered nurses to build and demonstrate commitment, confidence, and credibility. Certification provides an added credential beyond licensure. It demonstrates, by examination, that the registered nurse adheres to specialized nursing standards and has acquired a core body of specialized knowledge in their practice or specialty. The topic of this article is part of the comprehensive examination given by MSNCB. The following scenario and questions offer an example that potential certificants may use to test their knowledge.

Complementary and Alternative Medicines for the Postoperative Patient.

The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) is a professional organization whose mission is to validate excellence in medical-surgical nursing. MSNCB administers the Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN®) and Certified in Care Coordination and Transition Management (CCCTM) certification programs because certification is the recognized path for registered nurses to build and demonstrate commitment, confidence, and credibility. Certification provides an added credential beyond licensure. It demonstrates, by examination, that the registered nurse adheres to specialized nursing standards and has acquired a core body of specialized knowledge in his or her practice or specialty. The topic of this article is part of the comprehensive examination given by MSNCB. The following scenario and questions offer an example that potential certificants may use to test their knowledge. For more information about MSNCB, visit www.msncb.org.

Gaining Control Over Fecal Incontinence.

Strategies that improve the regularity and efficiency of defecation can eliminate or minimize episodes of fecal incontinence. The medical-surgical nurse's role in identifying patients with fecal incontinence is discussed, along with various treatments to control bowel elimination.

STEP-UP: Study of the Effectiveness of a Patient Ambulation Protocol.

Immobility in hospitalized patients, particularly the elderly, can lead to serious untoward events. A pragmatic ambulation program that could be incorporated easily into clinicians' practice routines significantly improved ambulation in hospitalized patients compared to usual care with no organized emphasis on ambulation.

Evaluation of a Nurse-Initiated Routine HIV Testing Pilot on a Medical-Surgical Unit.

National guidelines recommending a shift from risk-based to routine HIV testing for persons ages 13-64 are described. The role of nurses, particularly medical-surgical nurses, in increasing the number of people screened is discussed.

'What Do I Do Next?' Nurses' Confusion and Uncertainty with ECG Monitoring.

The prevalence of telemetry monitoring is increasing on medical- surgical units, but no evidence-based guidelines standardize nursing education. Research indicates nurses feel uncertain and report a lack of knowledge when caring for patients with telemetry monitoring.

Care of the veteran.

The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) is a professional organization whose mission is to validate excellence in medical-surgical nursing. MSNCB administers the Certified Medical- Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN[R]) and Certified in Care Coordination and Transition Management (CCCTM) certification programs because certification is the recognized path for registered nurses to build and demonstrate commitment, confidence, and credibility. Certification provides an added credential beyond licensure. It demonstrates, by examination, that the registered nurse adheres to specialized nursing standards and has acquired a core body of specialized knowledge in his or her practice or specialty. The topic of this article is part of the comprehensive examination given by MSNCB. The following scenario and questions offer an example that potential certificants may use to test their knowledge.

Addressing barriers to achieving nursing certification: development of a certification achievement program on a medical-surgical unit.

Nursing certification is recognized as advanced competency and knowledge beyond basic preparation, thus empowering nurses to contribute to improved outcomes by demonstrating expertise in their specialties. It has been recognized that nurses do not seek certification because of identified barriers. Through a structured Certification Achievement Program that reduced barriers, a cohort of nurses was able to achieve certification in medical-surgical nursing.