SIN-BARRSS - Developing a mnemonic to support nurses' participation in interprofessional ward rounds in intensive care: An appreciative inquiry for quality improvement.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and pilot a mnemonic to increase the willingness and ability of bedside nurses to contribute to patient reviews in the daily interprofessional ward round.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN: Appreciative inquiry quality improvement study, using ethnographic observations and appreciative inquiry discussions, augmented by quantitative data collection of basic facts.

SETTING: Large (44 beds) critical care unit in the United Kingdom.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Interprofessional development and acceptance of mnemonic; successful preparation for pilot; use and usability of mnemonic; improvements in bedside nurses' contributions to ward round discussions (frequency and focus).

RESULT/FINDINGS: Interprofessional development of a usable and useful mnemonic was successful, pilot implementation showed promising levels of take up and acceptance. Compared to before the quality improvement project bedside nurses were more willing and able to participate in ward round discussions, did so more often, and used the mnemonic script with insight and flexibility.

CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a mnemonic supported bedside nurses' contributions to the ward round. This could provide a framework for introducing similar programmes to other intensive care units. Appreciative inquiry methodology could be replicated in other settings to aid the improvement of interprofessional ward rounds, or to address other quality improvement priorities.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: A mnemonic can provide a structure which supports bedside nurses' contributions in ways that make good use of bedside nurses' professional expertise and most up to date knowledge of patients' clinical state. Furthermore, a well-designed mnemonic can be used flexibly and provides an outline script that supports less experienced and less confident nurses to make well-focused and well received contributions to rapid interprofessional discussions. In turn, this can increase these nurses' confidence and capability. More experienced and confident nurses, and ward round leaders, can use the same mnemonic flexibly as an aide memoir that guards against missing information and insights that could affect the quality and safety of patient care.