There is quantitative evidence that links patient satisfaction scores to effective use of hourly rounding. Hourly rounding is a health communication best practice that is instrumental in raising perception of the patient as pertains to care, and improves the patient experience. Hourly rounding with a purpose meant to check the patient for pain, potty, position, and possessions (four P’s) serves to enhance patient satisfaction, safety and outcomes. Health care facilities are currently under immense pressure to control the cost of health care, while enhancing the patient outcomes. These concerns are play an instrumental as well as contentious role in decisions facing health care facilities especially in coming up with hourly rounding program. Spontaneously, it would be expected that comparatively consistent hourly rounding is related to improved patient outcomes, and in the event that such perspective is correct, the patient benefits ought to be the fundamental consideration in determining of hourly rounding levels. Abstractly, health care decisions pertaining to hourly rounding should be subject to clear verifiable evidence on the matter.
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The organization culture of any health care network is considered as the composite of an institution’s beliefs, values, behaviors and conventions. In addition, the organization profile encapsulates the organization’s fundamental philosophy, beliefs, values and its adopted role in society (Allen, 2012). The culture and profile of an organization does not change instantly but rather evolves over time due to the effect of other changes in the organization. The organizational culture fundamentally determines the assumptions that employees of the organization make in the course of duty. The health care organization culture is under immense pressure to improve the operational efficiency that encapsulates innovative means of providing patient and staff satisfaction within the work environment. Nurse rounding is one of the ways meant in addressing patient safety.
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Nurses play an integral role in the health care system. Formulating policies that prescribe hourly rounding is crucial in ensuring the safety of patients as well as the nurses. Satisfactory hourly rounding is fundamental in safeguarding patient care and nurse retention (Allen, 2012). Nurses play a pivotal role improving care for patients and their families through challenging the current approaches and cultural perceptions care. Personal values and perceptions as well as other relational factors have been identified as instrumental in the determination of factors that affect the provision of quality nursing care at various situations (Allen, 2012). The optimum care is considered as an experience that should be free from suffering and avoidable distress for both the patients and their families subject to patients and families wishes, as well as consistency with clinical, ethical and cultural standards.
There has been a growing need for more nurses rounding in hospitals in the past several years, following the growing acuity of patients as well as shorter lengths of stay. There is a direct relationship between the safety and quality of health care and nurse hourly rounding (Allen, 2012). Working conditions in a majority of health care institutions have been reported to deteriorate due to the health care institutions failing to keep up with the increasing demand for nursing care. This has compelled state legislatures to consider regulatory measure in a bid to ensure adequate staffing. The regulatory measures prescribe a minimum level of staffing that all health care institutions ought to adhere to irrespective of the severity and types of patients (Cook et al., 2012).
There is a difficulty in asserting the most effective nurse-to-patient ratio subject to methodological variances in implementation of the policy as well as associated individual differences. There is no doubt; nonetheless, that hourly rounding is an effective approach in enhancing performance of nurses. The decision making of a health care facility needs to take into account several aspects while implementing hourly rounding programs for nurses (Halm, 2009). There is need to appreciate both the negative effects and the advantages of hourly rounding, and there should also be communicated to the nurses.
Hourly rounding is considered prerequisite to ensuring that there is an adequate number and mix of health care staff members available to meet the needs of patients and provision of safe, quality care. Research has validated the contribution as well as value of hourly rounding to improvement of patient outcomes, reduction of complications and hospital stay lengths, and prevention of premature mortality. The basic considerations for hourly rounding plan for a health care unit are the number of patients; contextual concerns, such as geography, architecture, and available technology; the levels of care intensity needed by patients; the quality of work life of nurses; and level of experience and preparation of the staff providing care (Cook et al., 2012).
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