2023-11-08 08:56:40
by Chiara Daina
a figure established in some hospitals; helps reduce relatives’ anxiety and sense of frustration, intercept any fragility and, according to a study, reduces episodes of physical and verbal aggression against healthcare workers
Less anxiety and frustration for patients and families and a reduction in episodes of physical and verbal aggression against healthcare workers. the effect of the introduction of the caring nurse, the nurse exclusively dedicated to welcoming, communicating and relating to users and companions waiting in the emergency room. A figure who takes care of the wait and humanizes a place that is often a source of high tension, and who is already employed in three public hospitals in Milan: Niguarda (since May), San Carlo and San Paolo (since July).
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Assignments
Its task first and foremost is to guarantee the relative in the waiting room a constant update on the clinical path of their loved one, without communicating the diagnosis, since it does not replace the conversation with the doctor, but reports the health conditions of the patient, if outside danger, if he is in pain, if he has regained consciousness if he has entered a state of confusion due to trauma, what laboratory and instrumental tests he has already done and will have to do, if he has been examined, if he needs to be operated on, if he is waiting for a consultation specialist, if he has started therapy, if he has eaten and gotten up. And if the family member has to rush to work or home to their children, they will be kept informed via telephone, explains Laura Zoppini, director of the health and socio-health professions at the Niguarda hospital.
After triage
The caring nurse is available to the same patient, immediately after triage (the initial assessment). He reassures him throughout the process, clarifies doubts, explains why he has to spend time under observation, which does not mean that they have forgotten about him, but that the effect of the drugs and the progress of the symptoms must be monitored. She helps him if he needs to notify his spouse, child or employer, if he needs a change of clothes or if he needs to recharge his cell phone, continues Zoppini. Two other functions of the caring nurse are: Intercepting situations of fragility, such as the lonely elderly person, the raped woman, the foreigner who does not speak Italian, and making the family nurse who will take care of him aware of the patient’s state of health. in charge of the territory or that of the department in case of hospitalization. At the Niguarda hospital the caring nurse is present 7 days a week, from 7 in the morning to 9 in the evening, in a dark blue uniform. a professional nurse, with experience in the emergency room, selected for his empathic and communication skills, who knows the dynamics and times of the emergency and urgency service. By virtue of her expertise, she is a reliable and authoritative communicator for patients and caregivers.
The caring nurse also reduces aggression
The experiences of accompaniment through volunteers, who have to disturb the staff at work every time to obtain information, have not proved to be equally effective, continues Zoppini. Just as the role of the totem, which traces the path followed by the patient identified with a code, is reductive, because it cannot manage the worry and disorientation of those who do not know what is happening beyond the waiting room and who, due to the lack of information, could react with anger and mistrust towards health workers. The Niguarda hospital carried out a survey on the satisfaction and results of the caring nurse in the emergency room after the first three months of activity, which showed that in over 9 cases out of 10 (94%) both patients and family members have reduced the their level of anxiety and worry while waiting; almost all users (97%) perceived that they had been correctly informed regarding the current situation; reports to the Office for Public Relations (URP) have more than halved (minus 60%); physical and verbal attacks against healthcare personnel decreased, going from 14 between May and July 2022 to 9 in the same period in 2023 (i.e. 36% less).
Figure tested during the pandemic
In the San Carlo and San Paolo hospitals, the figure, here in beige uniform, had already been successfully tested during the pandemic emergency both in the emergency room and in the Covid departments, reports Barbara Pinna, director of the health and socio-health professions of the company of which the two principals are part of it. Inside the emergency rooms – Pinna informs – a 24-hour Cup desk has also been inaugurated which allows immediate booking of visits and check-ups or to complete the diagnostic process after discharge.
Primary nurse
Primary nursing is also spreading in Italy, a reference nurse for the patient, responsible for his care plan from admission to discharge. Alberto Dal Molin, director of the specialization course in primary nursing trainers at the University of Eastern Piedmont, explains: Every day he informs relatives about the conditions of their loved one, and is a point of reference for the patient. He explains the treatment path to him, educates him on how to take the therapy, interfaces with other professionals to facilitate taking charge and upon discharge, after an assessment of his degree of self-sufficiency, establishes whether he needs assistance at home or in the hospital. transfer to another facility. One of our studies revealed that during hospitalization, falls, urinary infections, phlebitis and bedsores were reduced, and satisfaction with nursing care increased.
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November 8, 2023 (modified November 8, 2023 | 07:56)
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