An interdisciplinary approach to addressing patient activity and mobility in the medical-surgical patient

Patient functional activity and mobility are essential to recovery and minimization of the risks associated with immobility in hospitalized patients. In practice, there is inconsistency in attending to this aspect of patient care and limited information in the literature to guide clinicians caring for medical-surgical patients. An interdisciplinary quality improvement team of nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and patient care assistants developed a programmatic approach to the assessment, planning, and implementation of patient activity criteria in this patient population. Increased awareness and application of the patient activity criteria have improved the consistency with which patient activity is addressed and reduced the incidence of immobility-associated complications.