Advancing Rounding Culture: Sustainable Strategies to Enhance Patient Experience and Nurse-Patient Relationships.

Background: Hourly rounding is a structured process where staff check on patients hourly to ensure their comfort and safety. Through checking on patients with purpose, we aim to enhance patient experience, strengthen nurse-patient relationships, and reduce safety risks.

Problem: A cross-campus survey focusing on organizational culture of hourly rounding revealed that nursing staff perceived the process as burdensome and an additional task rather than an integrated practice.

Approach: Program leaders launched a campus-wide video campaign showcasing purposeful rounding in action, followed by in-person training which equipped staff with leadership and appreciative coaching skills necessary to improve their daily rounding practices.

Outcomes: Patient experience scores related to responsiveness improved by up to 7.9% on inpatient and outpatient surveys.

Conclusions: This program provided a sustainable framework for staff to consistently and proactively address patient needs, improving the overall patient experience through enhanced human connection.