Journal of Nursing Care Quality

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July/September 2023 - Volume 38 - Issue 3

  • Staci Reynolds, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CPHQ
  • 1057-3631
  • 1550-5065
  • 4 issues / year
  • 1.728

In this issue: Opportunities exist for health care systems to utilize virtual care platforms to help improve quality of patient care.  Authors provide an overview of a new model of care delivery through the use of a virtual discharge (VDC) protocol between bedside nurses and a virtual nurse team.  Using telehealth technology, virtual nurses delivered remote discharge education to patients on a 30-bed orthopedic unit, providing 269 VDC sessions and over 100 hours of discharge education. Patient satisfaction communication scores improved significantly and patients maintained a low 7-day readmission rate.

A team implemented an evidence-based peripheral intravenous catheter (PIV) care bundle and decision making algorithm to reduce PIV dwell time, phlebitis, and other complication.  Results showed a significant reduction in PIV dwell time from 3.6 to 2.9 days (p<.001) and phlebitis decreasing from 14.8% to 4.9% (p<.05).  
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Staci S. Reynolds, Editor​

Virtual Discharge: Enhancing and Optimizing Care Efficiency for the Bedside Nurse

Perpetua, Zachary; Seitz, Shannon; Schunk, Jessica; More

Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 38(3):234-242, July/September 2023.

Virtual Discharge: Enhancing and Optimizing Care Efficiency for the Bedside Nurse

Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice in Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Care

Hontoria-Alcoceba, Rocío; López-López, Candelas; Hontoria-Alcoceba, Virginia; More

Journal of Nursing Care Quality. 38(3):226-233, July/September 2023.

Implementation of Evidence-based Practice in Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Care

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End-of-life planning helps nurses meet the needs of their patients at a crucial time of life. This paper presents a conceptual model of end-of-life care planning for nurses focusing on holistic nursing views. Based on a literature review, we developed a new conceptual model illustrating the concepts and dimensions of end-of-life care planning among diverse individuals across countries, lifespans and age groups, ethnographies, and residential statuses. This conceptual model includes 3 concepts: personal factors, stakeholders, and environmental and social factors. The concepts are interrelated and directly related to end-of-life care planning. This work addresses the need for a comprehensive end-of-life care planning model and can help enhance the quality of end-of-life care. Read the full article​ after watching this video.​​
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Medication administration timing error (MATE) leads to poor medication efficacy, harm, and death. Frequency of MATE is understudied. The purpose of this study was to determine MATE frequency and characteristics and quality of reporting studies. A systematic review of articles between 1999-2021 was conducted. Twenty-three were included in this review. MATE was defined as administration beyond 60 minutes before or after the scheduled time in 13 (57%) of the included studies. Measurement procedures included data abstraction, self-report, and observation. Frequency of MATE was 1% to 72.6%. Moderate study quality was found in 78% of articles. Research on MATE is characterized by inconsistent definitions, measurements procedures, and techniques. High quality studies are lacking. Many research improvement opportunities exist. Read the full article​ after watching this video.​
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Patients undergoing complex surgical procedures, such as cardiac surgery, often experience high anxiety due to the severity of their disease and technical nature of the surgery.  Providing education is very important in this population; however, providing education in a traditional format, such as face-to-face at a clinic visit, may not result in the most effective education delivery. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the impact of using digital education strategies as a supplement to in-person education on patient engagement and patient satisfaction.  Prior to implementation, baseline patient satisfaction scores related to patient’s understanding of education provided was 80%; this increased to 83.5% post-implementation. A total of 188 (56%) patients viewed 100% of the material and 266 (79.5%) viewed greater than 75% of the material. Read the full article after watching this video.
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High quality nurse-physician communication during family-centered rounds (FCR) can increase patient safety. Using quality improvement methodology, we measured nurses’ perceived awareness of components of the shared mental model, nurses’ attendance during FCR, compliance with completing FCR summaries, and average time spent per FCR encounter. A structured resident huddle took place prior to FCR. Residents used a tool to send individualized alerts to bedside nurses to prepare them for FCR, and sent a summary text to nurses who were unable to attend FCR.  Over 16 weeks, nurses’ perceived awareness increased from 70% to 87%. Nurse attendance increased from 53% to 75%.  We successfully piloted multiple interventions to improve nurse perceived awareness after FCR.  Read the full article​ after watching this video.
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Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death and disability in community-dwelling older adults. Evidence-based fall prevention activities in primary care, including nurse-facilitated wellness visits, have been limited. Barriers including patient engagement and adherence exist. A quality improvement project integrating components of the Centers for Disease Control’s Stopping Elder Accidents, Deaths and Injury was introduced by registered nurses during older adult annual wellness visits. A total of 522 patients were screened, with 21% (n=111) having increased fall risk. Of these, 78% (n=87) engaged in home safety, gait, strength, and balance assessments and the majority (95%, n=83) participated in fall prevention plans of care. At 2-week follow-up, patients’ self-reported adherence was 74% for gait/strength/balance and 67% for home safety. An expanded primary care team model shows promise for promoting fall prevention behaviors. Read the full article​ after watching this video.













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This is the first video in our writing for publication series. The purpose of the manuscript and intended readers guide your selection of a journal for submission. Learn about directories of nursing and other journals and sending a query email.
This is the second video in our writing for publication series. Learn about the journal’s Information for Authors and why important, formats for writing different types of manuscripts, and reporting guidelines. The video will prepare you for writing papers about quality improvement and using the SQUIRE guidelines. References and tables/figures also are discussed.
​This is the final video in our writing for publication series. In this video you will get some additional tips on writing your manuscript and will learn about peer review and responding to reviewers’ comments. Other topics include authorship criteria, copyright, open access, and avoiding “predatory journals.”