A travel nurse understands better than anyone the integral role he or she plays in patient safety and well-being. After all, as a nurse, you are likely one of the first responders to health incidents, especially when they happen directly in a medical facility. However, some outcomes aren't always positive, particularly when it comes to in-hospital cardiac arrest. Even though nurses are in the vicinity, the vast majority of patients don't survive IHCA.
A team of researchers sought to determine why survival rates vary from hospital to hospital. To do this, they reviewed three year's worth of data from the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation database, the University of Pennsylvania Multi-State Nursing Care and and Patient Safety and the American Hospital Association annual survey. Their findings, which were published in the journal Medical Care, determined that nurse staffing and the overall work environment had a major impact on IHCA outcomes.
Nursing staff
More nurses on staff means patients have a better chance of surviving IHCA. Specifically, the risk for death increased 5 percent for every additional patient per nurse, highlighting just how important having a well-balanced staff is for hospitals.
Depending on your role in the medical facility, you may be able to help boost the number of healthcare professionals. For instance, suggest enlisting the help of a travel nursing agency that sends nurses to locales in need. Or, if you're working in travel nursing yourself, request to be assigned at a space that truly needs more hands on deck.
Work environment
The researchers also discovered that when hospitals provided a more supportive work environment for nurses, higher survival rates for patients with IHCA occurred. These results beg the question: What is an ideal work environment for nurses?
Every job will bring certain pressure – that's just the nature of healthcare. It's how the employer and staff members handle and facilitate the stress that truly matters in building an effective work environment. The presence of positive, collaborative relationships may help. According to the American Nurses Association this requires honest and effective communication, and a culture that supports learning. Nurses can do their part by actively engaging in their roles, empowering and respecting others, thinking creativity, and sharing and listening to ideas.
Additionally, as a nurse, it's also important to select a field in which you are interested to bring a positive attitude to work each day. This way, you can do your part in contributing to those collaborative relationships that make up an effective work environment.
What nurses can do
Sometimes, nurses have little control over the amount of people on staff or the overall work environment. Besides experiencing a variety of hospital cultures through travel nursing and making suggestions for staffing improvement, there are other steps you can take to improve patient outcomes with IHCA. For example, research published by the American Heart Association advised healthcare professionals to have the appropriate equipment on hand (like code carts), determine an emergency response team and ensure staff members are trained in resuscitation care.
Stay up-to-date on your medical facility's policies, and offer suggestions when you see areas for improvement. With the necessary adjustments, your hospital may be able to improve IHCA outcomes.