Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Gayle Casterline

Abstract

The patient and family voice should be heard in the healthcare setting. Gaining knowledge and insight from a parent of a pediatric patient will allow hospital staff and administrators to see the hospital experience from the vantage point of a patient and family member (Uhl, Fisher, Docherty, & Brandon, 2013). It is important to continually review feedback and suggestions from families of pediatric patients to improve the care of future patients. Ultimately, this will improve patient satisfaction scores, but most importantly, it will improve the experience of pediatric patients (Creating patient and family advisory councils, 2010). The investigator interviewed ten families of patients on the pediatric unit and received feedback on things that are going well, opportunities for improvement, and suggestions for improving the patient experience. Overall, nursing care was highlighted as a positive aspect of the patient’s hospitalization. Opportunities for improvement noted were the meal tray delivery process, communication between surgical services and parents of pediatric patients, and the focus of pediatric patients in the Emergency Department. Suggestions and ideas expressed by the patients’ parents were focused on physical environment improvements, emotional support, and amenities to improve the hospitalization. By asking families about their experiences, changes can be made to enhance how care is delivered, services offered, or amenities provided for future patients. Results from the interviews will be shared with the Family Advisory Council (FAC) for Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital, staff, and administrators in order for action plans to be developed and implemented.

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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