The success of a healthcare facility hinges on the quality of the relationships built between departments. Establishing strong, collaborative rounding plans provides an opportunity for department heads to connect one-on-one with unit leaders and serves as a way to learn about and address obstacles together. The relationships developed through collaborative rounding fosters visibility between departments and, if done properly, can positively affect the patient experience.
Developing a collaborative rounding plan will ensure that time spent with leaders is productive and conducive to the needs of the facility. These best practices serve as helpful steps to creating a proactive collaborative rounding plan.
Determine which leaders should meet
Identify which individuals to include in collaborative rounds, such as the charge nurse, cath lab director, administrators, or any leader that has a connection to the patient experience. Once all the individuals are chosen, set up one-on-one meetings to discuss what the process will look like. Remain flexible and be respectful of people’s time. It will also be important to stay in touch regularly to help keep meetings efficient and constructive.
Identify needs and determine what to discuss
Transparent, clear communication is key for efficient collaborative rounding. Discussing barriers, obstacles, and short-term and long-term goals with each department leader will help establish a better understanding of each other’s needs. This allows for a strong relational foundation to be built, and serves as a best practice to better evaluate the success of the collaborative rounding meetings. All meetings should be documented and maintained in an easily accessible way, such as in a Google Doc or other technology tool. This keeps items streamlined and processes on track. The documents should be reviewed before every recurring meeting to prepare both parties on what will be addressed.
Establish and stick to a rounding schedule
Conducting recurring rounds is vital to interdisciplinary success. Each collaborative round should end with confirmation of a place and time for the next meeting. Meeting at least once a month is the most proactive way to stay on top of needs and address emerging issues before they become a determinant to patient satisfaction. However, if demands need to be addressed quickly, rounding should be scheduled more often until the issue has been resolved. While scheduling meetings, be cognizant of time constraints and avoid hectic periods of high patient discharges.
Collaborative rounding meetings drive departments to work together and achieve goals. This builds camaraderie and a common purpose. Identifying the needs of other departments and sharing solutions enhances the quality of service provided and positively impacts the patient experience.
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Leadership