Implementing Best Practices for Decreasing Nurse Hesitancy to Call the Rapid Response Team: An Evidence-Based Quality...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Nurses often delay Rapid Response Team (RRT) activation until physiological decline is evident via the Modified Early Warning Score.
• This hesitancy can impact timely patient intervention and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To decrease nurse reluctance in proactively calling the RRT.
• To increase the frequency of RRT activations before a patient's condition critically worsens.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a quality improvement initiative focused on education.
• Utilized strategies including planned handoff communication, debriefing, and 'good catch' emails.
• Aimed to enhance nurses' knowledge and confidence in RRT utilization.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant increase in monthly proactive RRT calls was observed post-implementation (p = .000159).
• No significant changes were noted in bedside interventions, unscheduled transfers, or Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation scores.

Conclusions:

• Educational interventions and structured communication effectively reduced nurses' reluctance to call the RRT proactively.
• These strategies promote earlier RRT engagement, potentially improving patient care.
• Acknowledging 'good catches' also contributed to reduced hesitancy.