Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Satisfaction

Introduction

It is the duty of a nurse to ensure that there is continuous quality improvement in his or her works so that there can be patient satisfaction as a consequence. It is because of the need to improve the quality of their services towards patients that it is imperative for nurses to be concerned about the way that they are able to provide these services in a manner which is as efficient as possible. Quality improvement can only be achieved through continuous efficiency because this is the best manner through which the nurse can be able to note any discrepancies in the way that patients are receiving services and make improvements accordingly (Levsey, Campbell & Green, 2007). There are circumstances where the nurse is required to provide some form of personalized care especially for individuals who are critically ill and cannot do even the most basic things for themselves. In such circumstances, the nurse has to show a lot of devotion for his or her work because without such devotion, the ability to provide the best quality of healthcare for the patient will be limited. It is therefore important to make sure that the patients’ wellbeing is catered for since it is the nurse’s duty to keep the patients as comfortable as possible during their stay in the medical institution. Nurses, because of their continuous interaction with the patients are often the best placed to provide reliable information to the doctors concerning the patients’ progress and because of this; nurses have to be extremely efficient in their work so that they can ensure a positive patient outcome.

Supplies

One of the best strategies that nurses should put into practice to ensure patient satisfaction is to make it their duty to keep a constant supply of the different items that a patient might require in the patient’s room. In this way, in case of emergency, there will be no need to look for these items when the patient wants them the most because such a process means that a lot of time is wasted and the latter might cost the patient his life (Draper, LaDou & Tennenhouse, 2011). Moreover, the nursing manager should ensure that each of the patients’ rooms is filled with cupboards which are well stocked with the necessary supplies so that nurses do not have to go a long way before getting the items that they need to better serve the patients. Moreover, such a move would ensure that the nurses keep working without any need to interrupt what they are doing in order to get supplies.

Uniforms

There are many instances where nurses in a hospital are hard to distinguish from the patients and this is the reason why the nursing managers have to develop uniforms which make this distinction clear (Radcliffe, 2000). Once nurses can be distinguished from patients, they are better able to be of service because patients and their visitors will know who to go to when they are in need of assistance. Moreover, it has been proven that a large number of patients tend to feel more confident in the presence of individuals who are easily recognized as nurses because nurses instill the confidence in them that they are being looked out for. The result of such confidence is that there is an improvement of patient outcome while at the same time the nurses are able to provide the services that their patients need almost on demand. The recognisability of nurses is important because they are the most significant people in any medical institution since they are the ones who are tasked with taking care of patients. The constant presence of nurses in their uniforms makes it possible for them to carry out their duties more efficiently while at the same time providing the patients with the means of recognizing and identifying with the people who are taking care of them.

Hourly Rounds

It is important for nurses to develop a routine of undertaking hourly rounds so that they keep an active look out on their patients. Hourly rounds are important because they provide the nurses with an up to date details concerning the patients’ progress and this helps those individuals who need extra care for their health to improve. Furthermore, this process is important for the patients because the latter become more confident in making their recovery since they know that there is somebody constantly looking out for their welfare. One of the results of hourly rounds is that there are fewer instances where patients have to ring the bell summoning a nurse and instead ensures that the nurse caters for all of the patient’s immediate needs.

Bedside Report

It is important for nurses to adopt a strategy which ensures that patients get their reports in a more personalized level (Lucia, Otto, Palmier, 2009). This strategy can be achieved through providing patients with their reports on the bedside so that it is possible for them to become active participants in their care. The participation of patients in their care and the catering for their desires by nurses makes the patients feel in control of their recovery process and this helps in the achievement of favourable outcomes. Furthermore, bedside reports make is possible for the patients to get to know more of their current status at a more personalized level; providing them with the opportunity to ask relevant questions and raise their concerns.

Conclusion

The discussion above has shown that among the best strategies that nurses should put into practice to ensure patient satisfaction is to make it their duty to keep the rooms of patients well stocked with supplies in case they are needed for emergencies. In addition, there are many instances where nurses in a hospital are hard to distinguish from the patients and this is the reason why the nursing managers have to develop uniforms to help patients find them whenever they need any help. Furthermore, this discussion has shown that it is important for nurses to develop a routine of undertaking hourly rounds so that they keep an active look out on their patients. Finally, nurses have to ensure that patients get their reports at a more personalized level so that they can participate in making decisions concerning their recovery process.