Copyright © 2016 HomeTown Health, LLC;
To be used only with permission.


The Benefits of Nurse Rounding with Purpose on a Patient’s Experience

There are three questions on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Patient Survey directly related to the patient’s experience and communication with their nurses. They include:
Question #1: “During this hospital stay, how often did nurses treat you with courtesy and respect?”
Question #2: “During this hospital stay, how often did nurses listen carefully to you?”
Question #3: “During this hospital stay, how often did nurses explain things in a way you could understand?”
Benefits of Nurse Hourly Rounding
Purposeful and effective nurse rounding helps to manage patient expectations, demonstrates caring, and promotes improved quality of care. It is a proactive approach to patient care and communication – one that can make lasting impressions on a patient’s experience in our hospital. It also makes a direct impact and improvement on HCAHPS Scores.
4 Key Elements in Rounding with Purpose:
1. Pain – Ask the patient if they are in pain and if so to rate their pain level on the organization’s pain scale. This will enable the nurse to provide proper documentation for the pain med

selected and provide a baseline for comparative pain reassessment in 30-60 minutes.

2. Position- Encourage the patient to change positions with assistance from the nurse.

3. Potty- Ask the patient if they need to use the bedpan or need assistance in getting to the bathroom. Patients on diuretics without a Foley are of special concern.

4. Possessions- Make sure the patients belongings (eye glasses, cell phone, drink cup, call light, tissues, etc.) are within easy reach. These items are the most frequently requested needs for which patients use their call light, other than using the bedpan.
Of course, your visit should be documented in the medical record with a brief description of the 4 elements of rounding with purpose.

Copyright © 2016 HomeTown Health, LLC;
To be used only with permission.