Knowing ‘something is not right’ is beyond intuition: development of a clinical algorithm to enhance surveillance and assist nurses to organise and communicate clinical findings

Jessica Brier, Moalem Carolyn, Marsha Haverly, Mary Ellen Januario, Cynthia Padula, Ahuva Tal and Henia Triosh

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2015, vol. 24, issue 5-6, 832-843

Abstract: Aims and objectives To develop a clinical algorithm to guide nurses' critical thinking through systematic surveillance, assessment, actions required and communication strategies. To achieve this, an international, multiphase project was initiated. Background Patients receive hospital care postoperatively because they require the skilled surveillance of nurses. Effective assessment of postoperative patients is essential for early detection of clinical deterioration and optimal care management. Despite the significant amount of time devoted to surveillance activities, there is lack of evidence that nurses use a consistent, systematic approach in surveillance, management and communication, potentially leading to less optimal outcomes. Several explanations for the lack of consistency have been suggested in the literature. Design Mixed methods approach. Methods Retrospective chart review; semi‐structured interviews conducted with expert nurses (n = 10); algorithm development. Results Themes developed from the semi‐structured interviews, including (1) complete, systematic assessment, (2) something is not right (3) validating with others, (4) influencing factors and (5) frustration with lack of response when communicating findings were used as the basis for development of the Surveillance Algorithm for Post‐Surgical Patients. Conclusion The algorithm proved beneficial based on limited use in clinical settings. Further work is needed to fully test it in education and practice. Relevance to clinical practice The Surveillance Algorithm for Post‐Surgical Patients represents the approach of expert nurses, and serves to guide less expert nurses' observations, critical thinking, actions and communication. Based on this approach, the algorithm assists nurses to develop skills promoting early detection, intervention and communication in cases of patient deterioration.

Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12670

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:24:y:2015:i:5-6:p:832-843

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Clinical Nursing from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().