Spinal cord testing: auditing for quality assurance.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Nursing Quality Assurance
• Clinical Documentation

Background:

• Accurate documentation of spinal cord testing is crucial for patient care and safety.
• Existing documentation practices by staff nurses were evaluated for adherence to established standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a quality assurance audit of spinal cord testing documentation by staff nurses.
• To compare documented assessments with investigator findings and identify discrepancies.

Main Methods:

• A quality assurance audit was performed on 25 patient records.
• Staff nurse documentation was compared against assessments by three investigators.
• Interrater reliability was established using a pilot study and a custom-designed tool.