Standardized Transfer Process for a Neurointensive Care Unit and Assessment of Patient Bounceback.

Background: Patients who require readmission to an intensive care unit (ICU) after transfer to a lower level of care ("bounceback") suffer from increased mortality and longer hospital stays. We aimed to create a multifaceted standardized transfer process for patients moving from the neurointensive care unit (neuro-ICU) to a lower level of care. We hypothesized that this process would lead to improvement in provider-rated safety and a decreased rate of bouncebacks to the neuro-ICU after transfer.

Using process improvement methodology to address the complex issue of falls in the inpatient setting.

Falls in the acute care hospital are a significant patient safety issue. The purpose of this article was to describe the use of process improvement methodology to address inpatient falls on 5 units. This initiative focused on a proactive approach to falls, identification of high-risk patients, and a complete assessment of patients at risk.

Sustaining excellence: clinical nurse specialist practice and magnet designation.

Clinical nurse specialist practice is essential in providing the clinical expertise, leadership, and organizational influence necessary for attaining the excellence in care reflected by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet designation. Clinical nurse specialists, prepared as advanced practice nurses, bring clinical expertise, knowledge of advanced physiology, and pathology and a system-wide vision for process improvements. This unique curriculum specifically prepares clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) to immediately practice as leaders of interdisciplinary groups to improve outcomes.