A Cross-Sectional Study of the Practice of Orthopedic Specialty Nursing in Hospitals in Jiangsu Province.

Purpose: To evaluate the development status of orthopedic specialty nursing in hospitals in Jiangsu Province in China.

Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2024 in the orthopedics departments of secondary and tertiary hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. Data were collected using a self-designed questionnaire administered through the online platform Wenjuan Xing. Moreover, data on specialty nursing techniques and specialty quality indicators were collected. The Pearson's chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to identify the differences between the different types and sizes of hospitals.

Results: Data analysis involved 229 hospitals. Nurse-led clinics (8.30%) were the least used format of orthopedic specialty nursing, and there were significant differences in different sizes of hospitals (P<0.001). The most commonly implemented specialty nursing technique was coordination and nursing of bone traction (79.23%). Concerning the measures to guarantee the quality of specialty nursing, the nursing ward round was the most common, and there were significant differences in different sizes of hospitals about "specialty nursing goals or evaluation indicators to be developed" (P<0.001). 88.21% of the hospitals regularly provided specialized nursing training to nurses, and only 29.26% of hospitals set up specialist nurse positions. Only 90.83% of hospitals regularly monitored, analyzed, and there were significant differences in the improvement of quality through "clinical research" in hospitals of different sizes (P<0.001). Specialty nursing activities conducted by nurses were mainly related to performance assessment (73.80%). The standardized prevention rate of venous thromboembolism (62.31%) was the most frequently used indicator. Concerning obstacles to implementing orthopedic specialty nursing, 82.53% of the orthopedic departments expressed dissatisfaction over a lack of nurses.

Conclusion: Hospital managers and policymakers should support the growth of orthopedic specialty nursing, hire more nurses and specialist nurses, address the obstacles of evaluation and incentive mechanisms of orthopedic nurses, and investigate additional strategies for the field's advancement.