Improving Pod Communication in Vascular Surgery Unit

Project Topic:

Improve communication and collaboration between team members. Increase patient satisfaction and decrease nurse staff turnover by improving employee satisfaction with teamwork.

Hospital, City and State:

The University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System, Birmingham, Alabama

Unit:

• Vascular and Cardiac Unit (VACU)

CSI Participants:

• Sharnell Ashmon, LPN
• Tristan Chapman, BSN, RN
• Jameica Crummie, LPN
• Kristen Graydon, RN
• Coach: Shannon Purcell, DNP,RN,NE-BC

Project Goals/Objectives:

1. Increase Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool (HWEAT) True Collaboration results to 4.0
2. Increase HWEAT Skilled Communication results to 4.0
3. Increase patient satisfaction scores 10%
4. Decrease nurse turnover 3 nurses
5. Improve scores on VACU Teamwork Survey 10%

Project Outcomes:

1. Increased HWEAT True Collaboration results from 3.54 to 4.06
2. Increased HWEAT Skilled Communication results from 3.58 to 4.08
3. Increased patient satisfaction communicates with nurses from 79.5% to 82.4%
4. Increased patient satisfaction staff Responsiveness from 53.1% to 61.9%
5. Decreased nurse turnover 1 RN and 1 LPN
6. Increased HWEAT aggregate score and all healthy work environment standards.
7. These outcomes resulted in a positive estimated annual fiscal impact of $131,00

Project Overview:

Our unit has a unique staffing mix. One RN, LPN and patient care teach collaborate in a Pod to care for seven to eight patients. Our CSI team identified a challenge in pod communication between RN, LPN and patient care technician (PCT), specific to shift-to-shift handoff and pod huddles. In addition, our unit moved locations, increased the number of patient beds, added an additional patient population, and added new team members.

The CSI team focused the project on improving communication and collaboration between team members with the goal of increasing patient satisfaction and decreasing nurse turnover. The team took the following steps:

• Conducted a VACU Teamwork Survey
• Revised the shift handoff protocol
• Created a one-pager and educated all staff and float/travel on the new handoff protocol
• Implemented a POD team meeting to include the RN, RN/LPN and PCT to occur before or immediately after the unit huddle
• Conducted a mid-point staff “pulse check” on the changes
• Audited the changes for effectiveness and opportunities for improvement

These activities resulted in an increase in both True Collaboration and Skilled Communication healthy work environment standards, an increase in patient satisfaction scores, and only 1 RN and 1 LPN leaving the unit.