FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Several nurses from San Antonio Military Medical Center at
Fort Sam Houston were selected to showcase their nursing research and
evidence-based practice innovations during a joint military course in San
Antonio.
The nurses were among the Army, Navy and Air Force
presenters at the TriService Nursing
Research Program’s Research and
Evidence-based Practice Dissemination course Aug. 31-Sept. 3.
The course was intended to “highlight research and
evidence-based practice innovations, while fostering collaborative partnerships
among TriService nursing partners,” the chiefs of the Army and Air Force Nurse
Corps and director of the Navy Nurse Corps wrote in a welcome letter.
“It is so exciting to see nurses, clinicians, administrators
and leaders from all three military services come together with the goal of
disseminating research and best practice evidence in order to improve the
healthcare of our beneficiaries,” added Army Col. Michael Schlicher, the
program’s executive director, in a letter to attendees.
SAMMC presentations ranged from the benefits of therapeutic
music on inpatient surgical wards to improvements for “near miss” reporting on
medical telemetry wards.
Air Force Capt. Kelly Lonergan, SAMMC inpatient mental
health unit nurse, presented findings from her project on the “Use of Pet
Therapy in an Inpatient Behavioral Health Setting.”
Lonergan’s project was geared to reducing patient anxiety
through the use of pet therapy. A pet therapy team visited with inpatient
behavioral health patients at least once a week over a six-month period.
“We conducted a little over 30 visits per month, about 200
patients,” Lonergan said. “We found huge drops in anxiety post-pet therapy.”
The patients completed the Hamilton Anxiety Scale 30 minutes
prior to the pet therapy and again 30 minutes after the pet therapy session.
“Because of the positive results we were able to increase
our pet therapy teams from one to six,” Lonergan said. “So we have six rotating
teams now that come through four times a week.”
The positive outcome inspired them to share their results
with other units throughout the hospital, Lonergan said. “One of the other
successes which I didn’t anticipate was staff morale,” she said. “Every time
the pets came up, the staff was so excited.”
Also representing SAMMC, Army Capt. Amanda Rodriguez, 3T
staff nurse, focused on patient safety with her project, “3T Medical Intensive
Care Unit Evidence-based Project to Reduce Nuisance Alarms.” The aim of the
project was to reduce false physiological alarms and to improve patient safety,
she said.
“Many studies have demonstrated as many as 99 percent of
alarm signals may be false and can result in patient harm or death when a
clinically actionable alarm is missed due to alarm fatigue,” she explained.
Alarm fatigue is when a person is exposed to an excessive number of alarms.
This sensory overload can lead to desensitization and delays in response or
missed alarms.
To reduce this high occurrence of false alarms, 3T MICU
nurses implemented the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Practice
Alert for Alarm Management at San Antonio Military Medical Center. This practice
involves “reviewing alarm setting and patient-specific tailoring of the
physiological alarms every shift,” Rodriguez explained.
After a six-week period, “alarms were reduced by over 900
fewer per day,” she said.
The project, with its impressive results, was well received,
Rodriguez said, noting the course “was not only an outstanding opportunity to
share our accomplishments, but to encourage and inspire others to pursue
evidence-based practice projects,” she said.
Robin Francis, 3W Medical Surgical Telemetry unit assistant
clinical nurse officer in charge for the, highlighted one of her team’s poster
presentations. The presentation, authored by the unit practice council,
showcased an initiative to improve communication between technicians and nurses
when patients’ vital signs were abnormal but not within Rapid Response Team
parameters, she explained. They instituted “parameter pals,” a tool to assist
technicians in knowing when to alert nurses about abnormal vital signs.
As a result of the speedier detection of abnormal signs,
“the tool increased our response time to activate RRT by 50 percent,” Francis
said. “I am always very proud of my team.”
Airman 1st Class Zachary Ferguson, who spearheaded the
initiative, called the conference an “enlightening experience.”
“The opportunity to collaborate and exchange ideas with
fellow nurses is rare but absolutely necessary,” he said. “It allowed us to
grow not only as medical professionals but as Soldiers and Airmen as well.”
Army Capt. Allison Ferro, SAMMC3E staff nurse, presented a
case study on how academic service partnerships can enhance the development and
training of military nurses. After sharing her findings in podium and poster
presentations, Ferro took advantage of the opportunity to attend other sessions.
“I was able to hear from bedside nurses on their best
practices and evidence-based projects, all the way up to the most senior
military scientists and their ongoing programs of research,” she said. “The
material offered at this course is invaluable to my professional and personal
development as a nurse.”
Army Lt. Col. Christopher Weidlich, SAMMC Center for Nursing Science and
Clinical Inquiry deputy chief of research, attended the course and praised the
overall conference.
“It was an excellent opportunity for military nurses from
all services to come together, exchange ideas, whether it be the latest in
research or evidence-based projects, and move the science forward, ultimately
translating to improved patient care throughout military facilities,” he said.