Nursing-sensitive outcomes in cardiac surgery patients

Achieving optimum patient outcomes has always been the primary focus of healthcare providers. The degree to which any healthcare discipline can impact outcomes varies since patient outcomes are multiple and diverse. As the measurement and reporting of outcomes has moved into the arena of public reporting, it has become essential for disciplines to be able to identify which outcomes they can either partially or completely influence. The focus of this article is to (1) identify what specific nursing-sensitive outcomes have been measured or monitored on cardiac surgery patients in the past and then (2) suggest potential next generation outcomes.