Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Vickie Walker

Abstract

With the increased economic burdens placed on Americans in recent years, the topic of healthcare has been in the forefront. As healthcare reform embraces the country, healthcare organizations are forced to re-examine their business structure more accurately to reflect the changing culture and patient population. The Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) is a model in the chronic disease setting, and many of the benefits and proficiencies have been studied but no studies have assessed nurse experiences or perceptions of SMAs. The purpose of this study was to determine the Registered Nurses's experience with and perception of SMAs. A descriptive exploratory design using a questionnaire (Nurse Perceptions of Shared Medical Appointments) assessed the convenience sample of 29 nurses enrolled in a nursing program during the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a frequency analysis was conducted on each response. Nurses have little experience with SMAs but found the factors provided by SMAs such as patient satisfaction, patient education, peer support, time with the provider, behavior changes, family support, self-care management, and inpatient readmissions to benefit their patient population. Nurses recommended SMAs in their area of practice. SMAs provide a creative approach to effective management of patients with chronic diseases. Nurses should be informed on the benefits, implementation, and structure of SMAs to enhance support and increase the use within various patient populations to optimize nursing care, increase patient satisfaction, and meet the changing needs of the healthcare organization.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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