Mixed Methods Study Integration: Nursing student experiences and opinions of intentional rounding.

Abstract

To explore pre-registration nursing students' understandings and experience of intentional rounding in education and clinical sectors. Intentional rounding is a patient safety intervention used in clinical settings to regularly check and document patients' welfare and environment throughout the course of a shift. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design using convenience sampling was used for this study, with an underlying pragmatic paradigm. Integration occurred in the design, methods, implementation and reporting phases of the study. Data were collected between August 2017 and August 2018 using a previously validated Nursing Perceptions of Patient Rounding quantitative online survey followed by individual qualitative interviews using the same cohort. Using the Pillar Integration Process, this paper displays and discusses the final results. The integration and mixing throughout the study generated insights into the perceived benefits of intentional rounding for nursing students and patients but also indicated a theory-practice gap that affects nursing students' confidence in undertaking this intervention. Students find this patient safety intervention helpful, but further clarity in the education surrounding it is required. This study addresses pre-registration nursing students' understanding and perceptions of intentional rounding. Intentional rounding benefits nursing students as a patient safety strategy and organization tool. Educational opportunities around the topic could be enhanced, reducing the ongoing theory-practice gap. Clinicians, academics and educators who support pre-registration nursing students in clinical and tertiary education settings can benefit from this work.