Twilight (The Flamingo Hotel)
Monday, 29 January 2007
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Twilight (The Flamingo Hotel)
Tuesday, 30 January 2007
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Adult Safety Sitter Pilot

Michele Blakely, RN-C, MSN, Carol Watters, EdD, APRN, and Stefanie Newman, RN, MSN. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, 5016 Westhaven Lane, Trinity, NC 27370

Objectives: Adult Safety Sitter Pilot Experience at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center I.)Our goals were to improve patient safety, promote healthcare team collaboration II.)Ensure appropriate use of safety sitters and enhance overall patient care in our institution.   Purpose: Ensuring patient safety is in itself a complex and multifaceted task. The purpose of this project was to develop and implement a nurse-driven, defined adult safety sitter process. Our goals were to improve patient safety, promote healthcare team collaboration, ensure appropriate use of safety sitters and enhance overall patient care in our institution. The pilot was conducted on three similar medical-surgical nursing units for six weeks. Results from our pilot indicated the primary reason for obtaining a sitter was confusion followed by risk for falls and finally sleep/ wake disturbances. Relevant and Current Knowledge: Nurses will gain knowledge in this session by our experience and from current literature regarding sitters and patient safety in the adult, inpatient environment.  Utilitizing literature and incorporating findings into a nurse driven protocol can help staff nurses make effective, more independent patient care decisions. Summary: Our country currently faces an aging population with numerous complex and chronic medical conditions presenting challenges in the healthcare arena. One such challenge to inpatient staff nurses is patient safety. As we advance into the future caring for more older adults nurses must continually consult the latest evidence. Evidence demonstrating  the best practices to keep this growing patient population safe as we care for them in hosptials is of extreme importance. Implications: Staff nurses are effective at independently assessing their patient's status and factors concerning safety. Implementing a nurse-driven, adult safety protocol on busy medical-surgical nursing units has the potential to enhance patient safety, while allowing efficient, collaborative cost-effective patient care.


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See more of The NDNQI Data Use Conference (January 29-31, 2007)