Abstract
Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the role of an emergency nurse coordinator (ENC) in improving patient satisfaction at the emergency department (ED) in Tehran, Iran.Methods: This was an interventional study in the field of ED management. This study was undertaken in the ED of Sina hospital in Tehran, Iran, during March 2018 until April 2019. An ENC was assigned to the ED on even days and during the next week. Also, the presence of the ENC was switched to odd days and so on. Patient satisfaction was evaluated by a questionnaire. In order to analyze data, independent T-test was used to assess the mean difference in satisfaction scores. In addition, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test was utilized to assess the difference in satisfaction scores after considering age, sex and triage level as confounding variables. Results: Finally, 315 and 291 patients were allocated to the intervention (patients with ENC) and control groups (patients without ENC), respectively. The total satisfaction rate in the intervention and control groups was 63.9% and 59.3%, respectively. The mean score of total satisfaction in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group [115.1 (SD = 20.0) vs 106.8 (SD = 22.3); P < 0.001]. The ANCOVA analysis showed that age, sex and triage level were not confounding factors affecting the satisfaction score.Conclusion: This study showed that the presence of the ENC in the ED can increase patient satisfaction, especially in domains related to “diagnostic and therapeutic services”, “cleanliness”, “cost and discharge information”, “ethical and privacy issues”, “admission, discharge and management services”.
Highlights
With the introduction of modern management concepts into the medical world, emergency departments (ED) nowadays are more concerned with patient satisfaction
Inclusion criteria encompassed patients presenting to the ED with triage level 3, 4, or 5 [based on Emergency Severity Index (ESI)] that were admitted during morning and evening shift hours
Of 700 patients assessed for eligibility, 315 and 291 patients were allocated to the intervention and control groups, respectively
Summary
With the introduction of modern management concepts into the medical world, emergency departments (ED) nowadays are more concerned with patient satisfaction. The special nature of the emergency department, including the nursing staff, physician issues, waiting time and etc. The results of some studies indicate poor communication with patients or rapport with nurses and other health care workers as well as inappropriate interpersonal relationships between nurses and patients in the hospital [6,7,8]. This may be due to the lack of an appropriate framework for patient communication in hospitals [9,10,11,12]. The nurse coordinator does a variety of tasks such as: 1) Performing or coordinating clinical activities in accordance with patient care plans, 2) Admitting patients, verifying documents, and displacing patients’ stuff, 3) Monitoring and evaluating the condition of patients and helping them to develop and adjust care plans, 4) Educating patients and families on methods, treatment options, and symptom management and 5) Monitoring patient scheduling, staff guidance, and adjustments when conditions change [18]
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