Review of Current Hourly Rounding Nursing Processes at New York Presbyterian Hospital

Hourly nurse rounding is an eight-step, scripted, proactive approach to patient care. Studies have shown that the practice of hourly rounding can improve patient satisfaction and safety, particularly in the reduction of falls in hospitals. Increased job satisfaction and decreased workload have also been reported on inpatient floors where hourly rounding has effectively been implemented. In an effort to increase compliance to hourly rounding, the Capstone team reviewed the current nursing processes for hourly rounding on several in-patient units. Based on outcomes data, the team chose higher and lower performing units. In addition, they completed nursing observations on four floors as well as focus group and patient care director interviews on six floors. An analysis of the data yielded the following recommendations: the need for shared decision-making and accountability in the implementation of the process, which includes a well-designed communication plan and the need to define and simplify hourly rounding, focusing on the key steps.