Role of the Obstetric Clinical Nurse Coordinator

Poster PresentationPurpose for the ProgramThe scheduling of procedures on the unit was formally an ad hoc process. This resulted in no true clinical oversight of the procedures being scheduled. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, The Joint Commission, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services call for regulation surrounding the elective induction of labor of pregnancies before 39 weeks gestation. There also are controlled criteria for exclusions to these guidelines. Gaps in adhering to the guidelines as well as patient and physician dissatisfaction resulted in the vision of a single point of contact for all women entering the obstetric unit for planned procedures.Proposed ChangeTo have the obstetric clinical nurse coordinator play the role of the clinical nurse expert to shepherd women through the final stages of their pregnancies, help guide their transition from outpatient to inpatient setting, and ensure adherence to guidelines of scheduled procedures.Implementation, Outcomes, and EvaluationBefore initiation of the role, the hospital had a high nulliparous elective induction rate. This translated to a failed induction rate of 25%. This number proved to be staggering and bolstered support of a clinical expert to monitor scheduled procedures. Six‐months postimplementation of the role, the rate of failed inductions decreased dramatically to 2% with enforcement of cervical Bishop scoring and adherence to the guidelines related to medical versus el...

Source: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing - June 4, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Nan Ybarra Tags: Childbearing Source Type: research