Introduction
The quality of communication between nurses and patients in a clinical environment defines patient outcomes to a significant degree. Due to the problems in data management, some interventions or treatment strategies may result in the aggravation of a patient’s condition, an increased length of hospital stay, or the development of comorbid health issues (Kelly, Runge, & Spencer, 2015).
Therefore, promoting an effective strategy for communication among nurses is a critical step toward increasing the probability of recovery in patients. The use of the AIDET strategy should be deemed as the most sensible change to make in the modern nursing setting since the selected tool creates opportunities not only for nurses to talk to patients more actively but also for nurse educators to teach patients crucial skills associated with with with health management.
The Spirit of Inquiry Ignited
The management of patient’s needs in the acute care unit (ACU) has been fraught with numerous challenges for nurses due to the vast number of threats to which patients are exposed in the target environment. The problem of mismanaging patients’ needs stems from poor communication and data management opportunities for nurses in the designated environment (De Wit et al., 2018). Due to the lack of information management tools and the pressure of time, nurses are prone to making medical errors, thus reducing the efficacy of the provided treatment. In addition, the low levels of patient-nurse interactions lead to less effective nursing interventions. In the ACU setting, insufficient care may cause vastly negative outcomes, with results ranging from a delay in recovery to fatal outcomes. Thus, the introduction of the AIDET tool as the means of addressing the problem is required.
The PICOT Question Formulated
In patients in the ACU setting (P) what impact will the AIDET framework involving enhanced communication in the nursing setting (I) compared to the existing principles of nurse-patient communication (C) have on the levels of patient satisfaction (O) in 12 weeks (T)?
The answer to the question provided above will open new possibilities for ACU care. By exploring the effects of the AIDET model, one will incite a positive change in the ACU setting by building the platform for a more effective data management process and reinforcing the nurse-patient dialogue. The latter, in turn, will lead to an enhanced patient education process, with the target demographic receiving detailed instructions about the management of their health concern, the location of threats to their health, and the search for the available healthcare resources. Moreover, with the promotion of communication between nurses, the instances of omitting crucial data during changes in shifts will be avoided successfully. Thus, patient satisfaction rates will increase with the application of the AIDET model.
Search Strategy Conducted
In order to collect the information required for the research, several databases were explored. The CINAHL and Google Scholar databases were utilized to elicit important information about the management of ACU patients’ needs, as well as the effects of the AIDET model on the use of information in the nursing setting. Similarly, the PubMed database was utilized as the location for scholarly articles on the topic. “ACU nursing,” ”AIDET nursing,” “AIDET nursing communication,” “AIDET patient satisfaction,” and “nurse communication patient satisfaction.” In the course of the search, five articles that provided the fundament for the reseat of the study were located. The specified studies addressed the use of AIDET in the clinical setting, the challenges of meeting patients’ needs in the ACU environment, and the opportunities that the AIDET model provides for patient education and satisfaction.
Critical Appraisal of the Evidence Performed
To examine the potential value of the articles selected for the analysis, the standard evaluation checklist was utilized. The identified tool helped to determine the validity of the located sources, their weight, and the authority of their authors, as well as the impact that they would have on further research and the development of the model for communication in the ACU context. For example, the paper by Skaggs, Daniels, Hodge, and DeCamp, (2018) points to the benefits of the AIDET model as the means of enhancing the conversation between nurses, as well as patient-nurse connection.
According to Itri (2018), the efficacy of the AIDET framework hinges on the opportunities for openness and data management that it provides. In addition, Braverman et al. (2015) posit that AIDET can be used to further patient education. Thus, the platform for enhancing the efficacy of clinical interventions can be built.
Evidence Integrated with Clinical Expertise and Patient Preferences to Implement the Best Practice
The observations made in the selected environment have shown that the incorporation of the AIDET framework into the nursing setting affects the quality of data management to a great extent. The process of patient handoff is performed much more effectively once a channel for nurse communication is established since the threats of omitting critical information are reduced. In addition, the foundation for educating ACU patients is established once the AIDET framework is integrated into the clinical setting since the strategy makes it possible to provide the necessary information to patients consistently, thus maintaining the continuity of education (Skaggs et al., 2018).
Overall, it is believed that the incorporation of the AIDET model into the ACU settings will cause a rise in satisfaction levels among patients due to the drop in threats to their health, the reduced length of hospital stay, and the opportunities for communicating with nurses.
Methods/Implementation Plan
The proposed strategy will be implemented with the help of the strategy aimed at selecting group-level targets. By creating group-level objectives, one will embrace a wider range of patients and, thus manage the problems associated with the lack of homogeneity in the ACU set. For example, the suggested model will be adapted to the needs of diverse patients, as well as patients with specific health needs. By incorporating the group-level approach in the ACU environment, one will prompt a change in nurses’ behaviors and attitudes toward their workplace responsibilities. As a result, the described strategy will incite a shift in nurses’ behavior and performance quality.
Data Analysis
The retrieved evidence will be processed by comparing the outcomes of the traditional methods for information management within the ACU environment to the approach that will imply the use of the AIDET model. Therefore, it will be necessary to start a clinical trial, in the course of which the data obtained from two groups, each representing one of the intervention types, will be gathered. It is also recommended to use the mixed research method. The application of the quantitative research strategies will provide a chance to gauge the efficacy of the AIDET framework compared to the application of the traditional intervention tools. Furthermore, the changes in patients’ attitudes measured with the help of a qualitative strategy will provide an insight into the nature of the expected positive effects.
Evaluation Plan
The assessment will be performed by comparing the changes in patients’ satisfaction rates. Specifically, it will be necessary to use surveys as the main tool for eliciting information about changes in patients’ satisfaction with the quality of care, efficacy of information management, and provision of the required health resources. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative data will be supplied for the analysis.
The outcome of Practice Change Evaluated
The assessment of the outcomes will be carried out based on the current feedback received from patients, as well as the expectations set by the target population. In addition to the subjective data provided by the participants, one will need to consider alterations in patients’ health dynamics. The presence of positive changes will indicate that the application of AIDET should be seen as an important part of nursing care in the ACU set.
Project Dissemination
The proposed change will be administered in the environment of a local hospital. However, in case the project will have the expected impact on the levels of patient satisfaction and the quality of nursing services, it will be necessary to promote its integration in other healthcare environments. The dissemination of the project will be performed with the help of modern IT and ICT tools.
Conclusion
By incorporating the AIDET model into the nursing setting, one will improve the efficacy and outcomes of nurse-patient communication since the model places the emphasis on effective data management and patient education. Consequently, the framework will be used to prompt a change in the quality of nursing services provided in the target setting. The principles of AIDET will help to reinforce the efficacy of treatment, simultaneously building the foundation for nurse-patient interactions in the clinical settings. With the emphasis on the continuity of care that AIDET provides, the threat of data mismanagement will be reduced, which will lead to a drop in the overall length of patients’ stay, thus helping nurses to reduce the threats to the well-being of vulnerable groups.
References
Braverman, A. M., Kunkel, E. J., Katz, L., Katona, A., Heavens, T., Miller, A., & Arfaa, J. J. (2015). Do I buy it? How AIDET™ training changes residents’ values about patient care. Journal of Patient Experience, 2(1), 13-20.
De Wit, K., Curran, J., Thoma, B., Dowling, S., Lang, E., Kuljic, N.,… Morrison, L. (2018). Review of implementation strategies to change healthcare provider behaviour in the emergency department. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 20(3), 453-460. Web.
Itri, J. N. (2015). Patient-centered radiology. Radiographics, 35(6), 1835-1846. Web.
Kelly, L., Runge, J., & Spencer, C. (2015). Predictors of compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in acute care nurses. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(6), 522-528. Web.
Skaggs, M. K. D., Daniels, J. F., Hodge, A. J., & DeCamp, V. L. (2018). Using the evidence-based practice service nursing bundle to increase patient satisfaction. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 44(1), 37-45. Web.