Nursing Sensitive Indicators

Hospital data on specific nursing-sensitive indicators could advance quality patient care throughout the hospital because staff would be able to see the prevalence of outcomes and work to prevent negative ones as well as working to set policies in place regarding care of patients related to their diagnosis. For pressure ulcers for instance, if there was hospital data related to which patients are most likely to develop pressure sores/ulcers (like those who are unable to ambulate on their own), care plans could be put in place for interventions such as reposition every 2 hours and as needed, up to chair from bed at least once a day, ambulate as tolerated assisted by staff, etc. Any nurse can delegate these tasks to a CNA or carry them out themselves. For restraint use every hospital has guidelines regarding when it is necessary and how to keep it safe.

Bed alarms can be used to alert staff when a non-ambulatory patient is getting out of bed. Always keeping the patient’s call light within reach is a necessity so they may call for help if needed. If there is family visiting and they feel comfortable keeping an eye on the patient then there is no need for any type of restraint if safety is not compromised. If restraints are to be used, there are guidelines on how often they must be checked to assess for circulation and pressure sores. Careful documentation must be kept if restraints are used and there must be a doctor’s order. There should be no long term complications if proper protocol is followed. The point of this being if staff can see negative data and how it impacts them, they can work harder to prevent those situations from occurring. Preventing complications will decrease patient’s hospital stays, decrease patient’s risk of developing long term issues related to hospital stay, and improve patient