Date of Award
Spring 2022
Project Type
Clinical Doctorate
College or School
CHHS
Department
Nursing
Program or Major
Doctor of Nursing Practice
First Advisor
Cathleen Colleran
Abstract
Background: Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) were reintegrated into the acute care setting of a hospital in Florida. The addition of this skill set was implemented in response to the national Registered Nurse shortage, and the need to increase resources at the bedside; with the goal of, maintaining high quality care and not compromising the patient’s perception of care received. Research supports that adequate bedside nursing resources has a direct impact on patient outcomes and patient perception as it relates to the quality of care they received during the course of their inpatient stay.
Objective: The objective of this project is the reintegration of LPNs into the acute care space, as well as, the evaluation of patient perception of care related to the reintegration using nursing sensitive indicators.
Methods: Pre and Post study design was utilized to establish baseline data prior to reintegration implementation and to evaluate success and/or opportunities associated with the addition of the LPN skill set. Press Ganey data was utilized as it is unbiased to the implementation and has the ability to provide both qualitative and quantitative data.
Results: There is direct correlation between nursing resources, patient perception of care, and patient outcomes.
Conclusion: The reintegration of LPNs into the acute care setting is an innovative response to the RN shortage. Through the evaluation of the specified nursing indicators, pre and post implementation, there was no compromise to patient perception of care and patient experience results continued to meet the organization’s goal of 75th percentile or better. Nursing sensitive indicators showed positive trends; Nurse Communication increased from the 75th percentile to the 77th percentile; likewise, Discharge information increased from the 92nd percentile to the 95th percentile.
Recommended Citation
Love, Darius J., "Reintegration of Licensed Practical Nurses into the Acute Care Setting: Impact on Patient Perception of Care" (2022). DNP Scholarly Projects. 68.
https://scholars.unh.edu/scholarly_projects/68