1. REHAB KHALIL SALEH - M.Sc., in Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing – Ain-Shams University.
2. SAMAH FAISAL FAKHRY - Professor of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing – Ain-Shams University.
3. SAMAH MOHAMED ELSAYED - Assist. Professor of Nursing Administration Faculty of Nursing – Ain-Shams University.
4. GALILA ABD EL-GHAFFAR - Lecturer of Nursing Administration- Faculty of Nursing- Ain-Shams University.
Background: Nursing rounds are generally used to improve the use of evidence in nurses’ practice, they provide a forum to maintain currency, competence, leadership and foster their clinical decision-making. Aim: This study was aimed at determining the effect of nursing round improvement strategy on head nurses work practice environment. Research design: A one group open label quasi-experimental design with pre-post-follow-up assessment was used in conducting this study. Study setting: at Arab Contractors Medical Center, Cairo, Egypt. Study subjects: all available head nurses their number was (42). Tools: three tools were used in data collection included knowledge questionnaire, nursing round observational checklist, and work practice environment scale for head nurses. Results: The study revealed that, the head nurses age ranged between 30 and 58 years, median 40.1 years, with great majority of them (97.6) being females and having a diploma degree in nursing. None of the head nurses had satisfactory total knowledge at the pre-intervention phase. These increased to 100% at both post and follow-up (p>0.001) phases. (28.6) of head nurses had adequate total practice in the preintervention phase, reached 100% at post and follow-up phase .All (100.0%) of the head nurses had low total perception of work practice environment at the pre-intervention phase, this significantly improved reaching (100%) of high perception at both post-intervention and follow-up (p>0.001) phases. The study intervention was the main statistically significant independent positive predictor of head nurses practice score, in addition to age and perception score. Conversely, the experience years were a negative predictor. The model explains 92% of the variation in this score. Conclusion: the implementation of the training as round improvement strategy program is effective in improving their knowledge, practice of nursing round and perception of practice environment among the head nurses. Moreover, the scores of these three domains are strongly and positive correlated, and thus the study hypothesis is accepted. Recommendations: the study recommends improvement of the head nurses performance through in-service training program, and more frequent meeting with supervisors. Scheduling fixed times for rounds. Further research is proposed to evaluate the long term positive impact of the nursing round improvement strategy revealed in the present study, and to explore the effectiveness of the nursing round strategy in other organizations, as well as on head nurses and patients’ outcomes.
Head Nurses, Nursing Round, Work Practice Environment.