Nurses' perceptions of patient rounding

This descriptive pilot study explored hospital staff nurses' perceptions toward the practice of patient rounding.

Rounding has re-emerged as a standard practice initiative among nurses in hospitals and has been associated with a decrease in call lights and falls, increased patient satisfaction and safety, and quieter nursing units. Regardless of these outcomes, controversy exists among nurses regarding rounding.

The Nurses' Perception of Patient Rounding Scale (K. Neville, unpublished manuscript, 2010) was developed to gain an understanding of nurses' perceptions of rounding.

Nurses identified rounding as valuable and perceived hourly rounding to be beneficial to patients and families but significantly less beneficial to their own professional practice. Challenges to rounding as a practice include issues of documentation, patient ratios, and skill mix.

Findings support the need for further research to address the challenges of patient rounding for nursing.