In a recent article published in the MEDSURG Nursing journal it discussed the effects of hourly rounding to prevent falls for patients in acute care. Falls not only cause harm to patients, they cost hospitals money. In 2012 “the Joint Commission identified reduction of harm from patient falls as a national patient safety goal” (Hicks, 2015). In attempts to reduce falls, studies have been conducted on hourly rounding. “The main components of hourly rounds include reducing anxiety by using key words, addressing the four Ps (pain, potty, position, and possessions), assessing the environment for safety issues and telling the patient when staff will return” (Hicks, 2015). Data for this article was gathered from fourteen published journal articles …show more content…
Out of the fourteen studies in which the data was collected, twelve units had a decrease in the number of falls, one unit had no change and another had a decrease initially but then it increased again. There were limitations to these studies which included “nonrandomized samples, small sample size and brief length of time for the studies” (Hicks, 2015). In conclusion the “reviewed studies showed promising effects of hourly rounding on decreasing patient fall rates” (Hicks, 2015). Hourly rounding should be thought of as a positive way to prevent falls and not a hindrance to the staff. The prevention of falls will not only save the hospital money but will more importantly will save patients from the harm and injury that occur as a result of a …show more content…
I was able to proactively meet his needs to change position, address his bathroom needs, make sure his pain was controlled and his things were in reach. By meeting all of his needs every hour I was able to prevent the need of him trying to get by himself. The use of two people during transfers allowed for extra support if he were to have needed it. I also made sure there were no safety issues with the environment that could contribute to a fall. As for my evaluation I feel like hourly rounding works well in most situations. For him it worked well because I took the need to get up alone away and by changing his position frequently, he had no signs of further breakdown on his sacrum. He was able to meet his bathroom needs on a regular basis. His pain was controlled throughout my shift, which helped him be able to work with physical therapy. By keeping the floor free and clean of any factors that could contribute to a fall, we were able to safely transfer him. He had constant access to his phone to be able to communicate with his family. He also had constant access to his call light, however he never needed it since I was checking on him on a regular basis. Not only did hourly rounding help prevent him from falling, he thoroughly enjoyed me checking in on him