Best Practices for Promoting Safe Patient Care Delivery by Hospital-Based Traveling Clinical Staff: An Integrative...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Hospitals frequently utilize traveling clinical staff (TCS) to address staffing shortages and maintain adequate nurse-to-patient ratios.
• While beneficial for staffing, the use of TCS introduces potential risks to patient care delivery.

Approach:

• An integrative literature review was conducted utilizing the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice model.
• The review involved rigorous quality appraisal, thematic synthesis, and formulation of evidence-based recommendations.

Key Points:

• Pre-employment screening is crucial for ensuring the competence and suitability of TCS.
• Standardized onboarding and orientation processes are essential for familiarizing TCS with hospital protocols and environments.
• Optimizing the integration of TCS into existing teams improves collaboration and reduces potential disruptions.

Conclusions:

• Hospitals should adopt the identified best practices to ensure safe patient care when employing TCS.
• Implementing these recommendations can help mitigate risks and enhance the effectiveness of temporary healthcare staffing.