Date of Award
Summer 2022
Document Type
Project – Full Written
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Committee Chair
Erin Montgomery
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to bring attention to the importance of the bedside nursing staff’s "back to the basics" approach to nurse-led interventions to help reduce the number of increasing hospital-acquired infections (HAI), specifically catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). The motivation to address this problem was due to the bedside nursing staff under-utilizing best practice interventions to prevent insertions and re-insertions of urinary catheters. A high number of urinary catheter insertions and re-insertions increases the risk of a CAUTI. Evidence-based interventions should be reinforced and utilized by bedside nursing staff to prevent insertions and re-insertions. Evidence-based nurse-led practices such as bladder scanning (to assess urinary bladder volumes), encouraging fluids by mouth or intravenous (if applicable), and mobilizing the patient frequently and as soon as possible post-surgery (Simsek & Sureyya, 2017). Methods used to address this quality improvement project are education via poster board presentation and pre and post-test questionnaires to evaluate the knowledge level of the bedside nursing staff. Nursing staff includes registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). The nursing staff plays an integral part in the care, maintenance, and reduction of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Education of best practices and supportive measures to decrease catheter-associated insertions and re-insertions to reduce CAUTI rates were discussed. Reinforcing and re-educating on evidence-based nurse-led practices will continue to be the most critical interventions to improve patient outcomes. (Parker et al., 2017).
Recommended Citation
Foard, Angela, "Changing the Ways Bedside Nursing Staff Think About ‘All Things Urinary Catheters" (2022). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 50.
https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/nursing-dnp/50
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