Hourly Rounding - a Replication Study - Research Paper Example

Hourly Rounding: A Replication Study Introduction The of the article is ‘Hourly Rounding: A Replication Study’ and the title well describes the content of the article. This title tells us that the article is focusing on hourly rounding, which is a broad topic covering many aspects as to the causes, reasons and consequences. The content of the abstract is concise but fully explains the issues in the article. It tells that the article consists of an experimental study, the challenges because of which these experiments were done, and the names of authors whose studies are used. Problem/Purpose The problem mentioned in the article is not the lack of hourly rounding taking place; in fact it is that as the staff shortage has worsened over the years, the patient satisfaction had decreased which causes hindrance in the patient outcomes. The author identifies the significance of the problem as he mentions the detailed study about the change in the hourly rounding pattern in nursing and how it affects the patients and the whole system. The background information provided by the author supports the problem fully as he explains why the patient satisfaction rates fell, how they could be improved and what role does hourly rounding play. The purpose of the study is to work out the challenges faced by nurses every day and to improve the patient satisfactory level. Literature Review The authors used previous researchers and their articles to support the current analysis and changing trends. The references that were used from the past 10 years were Meade and co-authors (2006), Krauss and co-authors (2005), Amador and Loera (2007) and Olive and co-authors (2006). The references used from the last 5 years are Culley (2008), Assi, Wilson, Bodino, Bognar and Lemenski (2008), Healy, Oliver, Milne, and Connelly (2008), Coussement and co-authors (2008) and Roszell, Jones and Lynn (2009). The authors suggest that future qualitative research should be done focusing on discharged patients’ perceptions about how nurses treated them during their hospitalization. Framework/Theoretical Perspective The study is based on a theoretical framework discussing the many kinds of variables that need to be considered. The studies analyzed discuss the various views and methods used to implement the hourly rounding. The overall article shows a theoretical perspective of why the hourly rounding is needed, is significant, is effective, improves the patient satisfaction, and how it should be managed to ensure the future results are effective too. List the research question(s) or hypotheses The research hypotheses are the use of hourly rounding in the nursing profession to improve the quality of services and decrease the number of challenges faced by nurses daily. The research questions are what the need of using hourly rounding is, what is the expected result, what methods to use to apply hourly rounding, is there a need for experiments and surveys, if yes then how will these surveys be carried out and how the samples will be selected. Identify and define variables The independent variables of the study are the different treatments that are implemented to ensure effective results. The nurses took rounds in every two hours and analyzed the response of the patients by taking feedbacks and recording the call-light usage. The dependent variables were the patient falls, call-light usage and patient satisfaction. Each of these dependent variables was measured through implying different experimental treatments such as falls recorded due to non-assistance. Demographics of Sample The study showed that the sample used was the patients that were discharged during the one year experiment. The sample size was not specified by gender, or age group, rather it was a small sample size which also resulted in many limitations to the study. Research Design The research design that is used in the study is experimental study and surveys. The experiments are used to imply the hourly rounding and record the results to see whether they are effective and the surveys are used after the patients are discharged to ask about their satisfaction level during the hospitalized time period. These two research designs are the most appropriate ones to use in a research of this kind to conclude the effectiveness of the hourly rounding technique. The treatments used in experiments were providing the patients with nurses on hourly rounds with assistance, medicines, overview and other necessary implications for patients. The patients were categorized in groups according to how often they would need nurses. Some were provided hourly rounding after every two hours and some after every hour. Sample/Setting There was no sampling criterion included in the study because it took place in a hospital where the sample was the patients that were genuinely admitted. For this kind of study on nurses, the participants were obtained from the hospital about which the approval was taken from the Institutional Review Boards and they waived off the informed consent because patients were used and aggregate data was reported. The patients were set according to their seriousness of the illness and this was the best setting for this study to analyze the need of nurses hourly. Measurement, Methods and Instruments The author did not select the instruments that were to be used as he used secondary data to analyze the experiments and study. The type of measurement used is nominal as the performance of the nurses on hourly rounding was measured through number of units decreased, the fall in the call-lights, and the percentage by which the patient fall rate was decreased. The instruments were developed by the researchers and these reliable instruments were reports, logs, checklists, questionnaires and observations. Data Collection The data used by the author is collected from secondary sources. The studies and experiments are collected by various researchers’ studies throughout the years. The data collected is longitudinal since it includes experiments and surveys carried out by different researchers at different times, and this data is collectively used to write this article. Data Analysis The author has describes clearly the ways in which the data is analyzed. Even though the data is collected from various different sources, the author has separately analyzed each piece of information explaining its procedure, technique, effect, implication and instruments used. For the type of data which is collected in this article, the procedure used is appropriate as it explains every bit of information in detail and systematically followed by a clear conclusion. Statistical Analyses All the results were given under the statistical analysis which ensured the reliability of the instruments that were used. The author used several studies and experiments to reach conclusions which make the instruments used reliable as the common conclusion was reached despite the studies taken from different researchers in different years. The author clearly mentioned the results that had statistical significance and the ones that didn’t making the article even more authentic. From the data the alpha=0.05 was computed for decision limits. Limitations Two major limitations were observed and identified by the author in this study. The first was a nonrandomized sample and the second was the small size of the sample that could give inaccurate results. Hourly rounding experiments should be demonstrated by using a larger sample size to observe significant results. Another limitation that was observed was that the results were not recorded time to time. The records were collected and examined at the end of the 4 months rather on daily basis. Implication of findings The nursing implications described were that the current study for hourly rounding showed positive effects on the patient falls, call-light usage and patient satisfaction levels. If the nursing staff wants to implement this technique successfully, they should train the nurses to ensure that their behavior is appropriate while on rounds. The staff should generate the reports in a timely manner, only then would the hourly rounding be effective in increasing the overall patient satisfaction. Future research should be on examining the quality patient care by surveying the patients after they are discharged and the complications seen in the deceased patients’ cases. Generalization of findings The author did not seem to have generalized the findings. He has discussed many of the research studies and in the conclusion he had simply concluded all the researches that he mentioned. Thus, the author did not give any of his opinions beyond the sample studies and he didn’t apply the studies to the population in general. Format The article has been formatted and written properly with good sentence structures and grammar usage. There were no spelling mistakes or punctuation errors. Subheadings were given and the discussions were made properly. Overall the structure, organization and setting of the material in the article were pleasing. Overall evaluation The research study provided a logical approach throughout the article. The author linked the research questions and hypotheses to the experimental studies carried out by several researchers. All the information was put together and presented clearly which showed the focus of the author on the data he collected. The methods and formats he used were perfect to fit to the intent of his study. I believe that the overall quality of the study is excellent as clear information and analysis are given for the reader to understand immediately. I believe the study is relevant and helpful for the nursing practice and it would help the nurses to imply the hourly rounding as the studies show their effectiveness. Overall, the study shows a clear and good article. References Olrich T. Kalman M., Nigolian C. (2012). Hourly Rounding: A Replication Study. Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. Read More