Abstracts

Rationale: Healthcare has seen a paradigm shift from inpatient care to a greater focus on ambulatory care in recent years. This shift impacted the way nursing, within the ambulatory setting, is utilized, due in part to the increased number of complex patients requiring a higher level of care. Ambulatory nurses now play a pivotal role in the ongoing relationship with complex patients to elicit a positive impact on outcomes and minimize gaps in care through engagement of the health care. As the nursing profession within Ambulatory continues to rapidly evolve, nursing competency and maintaining a strong nurse-provider relationship are two key components to delivering quality, safe patient care. In addition, it also creates an optimal, confident environment for the healthcare team, patients, and families to be able to interact and collaborate to achieve expected patient outcomes.

Methods: To develop further these essential components, an Epilepsy Education QI Project was developed with goals geared towards improving self-assessment knowledge in nurses and build coworker relationship in the Epilepsy Clinic. This was done by assisting nursing staff in becoming nurse experts in their area of interest within Epilepsy. To do so, we asked the presenters (Doctors and Nurse Practitioners) to partner up with our nursing staff when presenting the lectures from our Epilepsy Education Series. The expectation was for the Provider to reach out to the nurse whose topic of interest aligned with topic being presented, collaborate as a team, and determine how nurse would be incorporated in the presentation. This would be done by either creating slides, presenting slides or however they would agree according to their knowledge and comfort level. Nursing was encouraged to include day to day information regarding clinic or phone triage process, education to families, etc. Providers were also encouraged to not only create an environment of inclusion, but one where nursing staff could learn from them and absorb more in-depth informational knowledge.

Results: The development of this Epilepsy Series resulted in nursing being able to expand their knowledge base and expertise, be identified as a resource to others according to their own area of interest, utilize Providers as their own resources in a very comfortable manner now that there is a more established nurse-provider relationship. Most importantly, care team members are delivering high quality care, as patient goals are in alignment with the desired outcomes by nursing performing at the top of the scope and becoming experts in their field, as well as the entire healthcare team creating a more cohesive, trusting, working environment.

Conclusions: After implementation of the Epilepsy Educational series, we were able to align with the goals of patient and family centered care by putting the patient first and empowering nurses to change the way they practice.

Funding: Please list any funding that was received in support of this abstract.: There was no funding that was received in support of this abstract.