NURSE-SENSITIVE INDICATORS
According to Kieft et al. (2017), nurse-sensitive indicators are gauges and measures that reflect the organization, courses, and outcomes of nursing interventions. That is, they are measures that show the impact of nursing care on patient outcomes. Nurse-sensitive indicators reflect three aspects of nursing care; that is, outcome indicators, including patient falls and pressure area sores. Structural indicators indicate the supply of nursing staff and their level of education, while process outcomes include nurses’ job satisfaction and measures of patient evaluation and nursing interventions.
Pressure area sores are an outcome nurse-sensitive indicator that remains a significant health problem in healthcare. Webster (2019), stipulates that pressure sores affect about 3 million adults and increases medical costs by approximately $37,800 per hospital stay. Although preventing pressure sores among patients is a multidisciplinary task, it is solely a nurse’s responsibility. Florence Nightingale stated that if a patient had bedsores, it is not the fault of the illness; instead, it is the nurse’s fault. Nurses’ job satisfaction has been a critical issue in the healthcare system, and approximately 40% of nurses working in the US are dissatisfied with their work. Job dissatisfaction among nurses contributes to high turnover rates, and poor patient outcomes, including increased patient falls, pressure area sores, and increased medical errors.
WHAT NURSE-SENSITIVE INDICATORS TELL US ABOUT BEDSIDE NURSING PRACTICE
The development of pressure sores among in-patients shows the extent to which nursing care is offered to patients. According to Webster (2019), nurses who implement pressure sore prevention policies such as risk assessment that includes skin assessment and the ability of the patient to turn to achieve better patient outcomes in terms of preventing bedsores. Besides, when patients who cannot adequately reposition themselves do not develop pressure sores, it may indicate that nurses are proactive in the mechanical loading of their patients, which includes two-hourly turning of such patients. Nurses’ job satisfaction, on the other hand, is directly related to patient outcomes at the bedside. For instance, a nurse would not be comfortable to work with leaders who consistently point out their mistakes, without recognizing their achievements; therefore, nurse’s services to patients will not be satisfactory.
HOW NURSES SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR PATIENTS’ HEALTH OUTCOMES
According to the ANA code of ethics, nurses are answerable for their clinical judgments and actions regardless of policies, providers, or directives. As a nurse, patients/clients have trust in us to provide safe, competent, and effective care. Therefore, nurses are accountable for patients’ health outcomes by having an obligation, adhering to laws and policies relating to the nursing profession. Also, to be accountable, nurses should seek help and share knowledge, and refrain from performing activities, which she/he is not competent to do.
REFERENCES
Kieft, R. A. M. M., Stalpers, D., Jansen, A. P. M., Francke, A. L., & Delnoij, D. M. J. (2018). The methodological quality of nurse-sensitive indicators in Dutch hospitals: A descriptive exploratory research study. Health Policy, 122(7), 755-764.
Webster, J. G. (2019). Prevention of pressure sores: engineering and clinical aspects. CRC Press.