Transforming Hospital Admission Into a Nursing Care Occasion

Resumen

Objective: This research seeks to describe the process of transforming hospital admissions into a moment of nursing care that improves the adaptation of patients and their caregivers. Methodology: This is a Nursing Methodology Research that was conducted between 2017 and 2018. The study included six phases: diagnosis of the experience of patients and their family caregivers during admission to hospitalization; review of the best hospital admission practices worldwide; definition of both, a nursing protocol to guide hospital admission based on the best available evidence, and guidelines to establish a caring relationship between the nurse, the patient, and the family caregiver; design and adjustment of instruments and strategies to support the implementation of the protocol; adjustment of the proposed protocol and supporting tools through expert review; and a pilot test in use for 9 months. Results: The transformation of the hospital admission requires nurses to search for evidence and humanization strategies, embodied in a practical guide that supports the admission process. There is a direct connection between the adherence of nurses to the guidelines and a better perception from patients and caregivers of the received service. This implies the admission process may become a caring opportunity. Conclusions: The transformation of hospital admission process into a moment of nursing care for patients and family caregivers improves the experience of the people involved and their perception of the institutional service quality.