Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Closing Communication Gaps For Unplanned Surgical Patients: One Pre-Op Checklist At A Time, Seda L. Vash

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Unplanned, inpatient surgical patients were experiencing poor outcomes and dissatisfaction with their overall care. This surgical patient population also lacked communication from their healthcare teams with regard to plans of care throughout their hospital stays.

Context: This was a quality improvement project for the unplanned, inpatient surgical patient population in the Central Valley of California. Approximately 13% of this hospital’s surgical patients required post-surgical care in the inpatient units. These patients, according to unfavorable HCAHPS scores, experienced unsatisfying care and insufficient communication from their healthcare teams, including physicians and nurses.

Intervention: This project implemented an Add-On Communication Tool for …

Improving Patient Knowledge On Medication Communication, Deborah Cha

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

Problem: Effective medication communication, including potential side effects, is a key determinant of safe patient care and better health outcomes. 3SA scores a 1-2 out of 5-stars for medication communication with the HCAHPS survey from October 2020-March 2021.

Context: As one of the medical-surgical units at this California hospital, it serves the purpose of providing medical and/or surgical management to acutely ill patients. The unit is a 24-bed, 1:5 nursing ratio with medical-telemetry and Covid-19 overflow.

Intervention: The interventions include a structured, evidence-based multi-component program in improving patient knowledge about new medications they receive, the possible side effects of …