Date of Paper/Work
5-2021
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Gretchen A. Moen
Department/School
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Abstract
Communication is critical to nursing and considered to be the backbone of successful nursing collaboration (Kear, 2016). Effective communication during delegation from the registered nurse (RN) to the nursing assistant (NA) is important for optimal teamwork and work-flow in the fast-paced inpatient setting. Inconsistencies in the delegation process lead to frustration and disconnect among the nursing staff at a suburban inpatient hospital unit which was the site of this DNP project. The goal of the project was to improve communication, teamwork, and efficiency of work-flow through the use of a standardized RN to NA hand-off delegation tool. A pre-implementation survey was conducted to determine participant’s perceived need for improvement with the current delegation processes. A standardized hand-off tool was then developed and used by the nursing staff during the delegation process. Evaluation of the participants perceived improvement in the hand off process was assessed through the use of a post-implementation survey. Results of the post-implementation survey showed a majority of participants felt neutral about improvement to RN and NA communication and teamwork with use of the standardized hand-off process. Additional study into individual vs team readiness for change, motivation for participation in quality improvement projects, and additional strategies for successful RN to NA communication is needed to successfully impact the RN to NA delegation process.
Recommended Citation
Goebel, Laura T.. (2021). Implementation of a Standardized Nurse to Nursing Assistant Hand-Off Process in the Inpatient Setting. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/132