NR 584 Week 4 Discussion: Client-Centered Care Initiatives

Client-Centered Care Initiative

Selected Initiative and Its Application

The selected client-centered care initiative for this project is client and family engagement. Within many emergency departments (EDs), patient satisfaction scores often lag behind those in other hospital units. One of the main contributors to this issue is the limited time nurses spend with patients, resulting in communication barriers and dissatisfaction with the overall care experience.

To address this, the department is implementing bedside shift reporting as a strategy to strengthen client and family engagement. This approach involves nurses conducting shift handovers at the patient’s bedside, allowing patients and their families to participate in discussions about their care. Through this involvement, patients can express their concerns, ask questions, and take an active role in their treatment plan. This not only enhances transparency but also builds trust between patients and healthcare providers (O’Donnell et al., 2023).

According to Kaiser and Ashby (2024), bedside shift reporting facilitates direct, distraction-free communication, reduces miscommunication, and ensures that both patients and their families have a clear understanding of the care plan. It also fosters reassurance, inclusion, and improved patient-centered outcomes.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Framework

Selected Framework: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA)

The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is a widely recognized Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) framework used to test, refine, and enhance healthcare interventions. This model is particularly effective for implementing bedside shift reporting because it allows healthcare teams to pilot the process on a small scale, evaluate its success, and make necessary improvements before applying it across the hospital.

Application of PDSA Framework to Bedside Reporting

Framework’s Impact on Client-Centered Care

The PDSA framework enhances client-centered care by integrating continuous evaluation and improvement into daily practice. It ensures that bedside reporting evolves based on measurable results rather than one-time implementation. This iterative process strengthens patient inclusion, supports transparent communication, and promotes family participation in care decisions.

Moreover, it fosters a culture of accountability and adaptability, as staff members regularly review patient experience data and implement necessary improvements. Over time, this leads to a safer, more transparent, and empowering environment for patients within the emergency department.

Interprofessional Team Involvement in the CQI Process

The successful execution of bedside shift reporting relies on the collaboration of the entire interprofessional healthcare team. Each member—including nurses, physicians, patient care technicians, and administrative staff—plays a crucial role in ensuring the initiative’s success.

Strategies for Engaging Team Members

Prioritizing interprofessional collaboration integrates diverse perspectives, improves problem-solving, and ensures that patient-centered strategies are effectively sustained throughout the organization.

Conclusion

Implementing client and family engagement initiatives, such as bedside shift reporting, offers a practical and evidence-based approach to enhancing communication and patient satisfaction in emergency departments. The application of the PDSA cycle ensures that the intervention is continuously tested, refined, and sustained over time.

Furthermore, interprofessional collaboration strengthens the initiative by combining the skills and expertise of various healthcare professionals. Collectively, these efforts promote a culture of safety, transparency, and empowerment, aligning with the fundamental principles of client-centered care.

References

Kaiser, A., & Ashby, T. (2024). Bedside handoff and patient’s perception of the quality of their care. Oncology Nursing Forum, 51(2), 61C–61C.

NR 584 Week 4 Discussion: Client-Centered Care Initiatives

O’Donnell, L., George, E., Donnelly, J., Bilderback, A., & Buchanan, D. (2023). Coaching to bedside shift report and its correlation to Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems and value-based purchasing dimension scores: A multihospital implementation study. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 53(1), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000001236