Supporting Caring Efficacy in Nurses through Standardization of Communication

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction scores are one of the measurements of performance and quality of care. Hospitals are facing up to two percent reward or penalty of their total Medicare reimbursement based on the results of clinical processes and patient experience measures. Local Problem: The staff addressed the lack of standardized care experience behaviors to facilitate and enhance nurse communication. Methods: Lewin’s change theory is the theoretical framework used for this project. Intervention: Behavior standards were developed and implemented on a 50-bed medical-surgical unit from August25 to November25, 2020, to support caring efficacy in nurses through standardization of communication. Results: Forty-eight nurses participated in this quality improvement project. A statistically significant difference was found between the pre-and post-Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) scores after the implementation of the behavior standard sp < .0001 (p = 3.8475E-10). Conclusion: The use of standardized behavior standards was an effective intervention to improve the nursing communication process. The intervention can be easily replicated and sustained in a strategic care experience program, while ensuring better patient outcomes and strategically improving nurse and patient satisfaction. Key Words: Behavior Standards; HCAHPS Scores; Nursing Communication; Patient Satisfaction