Increasing patient recall of nurse leader rounding.

Nursing staff in a medical/surgical acute care 34-bed hospital unit were challenged by low percentages of patients able to recall nurse leader rounding activity (NLR). NLR occurred daily for all patients, yet many did not recall visits by nursing leaders when surveyed at discharge. Care giver credibility suffered as non-nursing executives questioned if NLR consistently occurred.

Education for medications and side effects: a two part mechanism for improving the patient experience.

Aim: A nursing study aimed to increase patient understanding of new medications and their side effects, and positively impact Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey scores for medications communication.

Background: Hospital patients' understanding of new medications and side effects is a major satisfaction indicator when formal surveys serve as quality measures. Medical/surgical unit survey scores at a 328-bed Texas hospital were below average.