The Patient and Family Promise pledges that the health care team will work with patients to coordinate their care. Vanderbilt University Hospital teams are taking that promise to a new level starting on Nov. 15, as they roll out a standardized physician-nurse-patient rounding system throughout the 726-inpatient bed setting.
This idea is a direct response to patient feedback citing uncertainty about team communication and reporting lackluster patient experience scores. After researching literature, the new process was piloted on several units on the Round Wing starting in January this year.
VUH’s Physician-Nurse-Patient Rounding System is a standardized series of steps that allow for synchronized, real-time communication. It works like this: When the attending and or advanced practice practitioner is present with the primary team, they press the pain button on the patient’s call light. The nurse then knows to join the team and patient in the patient’s room.
Together, the health care team explains roles, the importance of rounding together, encourages the voices of all gathered, including the patient and family. If the nurse is not available to join the primary team, the primary team continues, so that they do not delay care to other patients.
Going forward, the hospital has also added a customized question to its patient experience surveys: “How often during your stay did a doctor/nurse visit you together? Results will allow teams to directly measure and track patient feedback resulting from this new rounding process.
