Advanced Practice Provider Grand Rounds: Improving Interdepartmental Networking

Advanced Practice Provider Grand Rounds (APPGR) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) was implemented in March 2015 to create more opportunities for advanced practice providers (APPs) to network and consult with one another while gaining continuing education. By developing more opportunities for interdepartmental networking and communication in the organization, the potential exists to improve overall patient outcomes. Physicians who were asked about the relevance of grand rounds expressed that they like the connections they make person-to-person and are more prepared to make referrals to specialists they have met at grand rounds events (Howell, 2010). The purpose of this DNP project was to determine if APPs at OSUWMC feel that their participation in APPGR makes them more likely to seek advice or information from an APP outside of their own department. The design used for this project was an observational correlational design so that the relationship between participation in APPGR and APPs’ confidence level in reaching out to APPs in other departments for advice or information could be evaluated immediately following participation in an APPGR event. The data was collected following three face-to-face bimonthly APPGR events. The instrument used was an exit survey with a simplified, task-specific self-efficacy scale to measure the confidence level of the APP in reaching out to APPs in other departments at the conclusion of the APPGR session. The utilization of APPGR was determined to be favorable as a means of increasing interdepartmental APP networking at OSUWMC. Improved marketing of such events as well as the opportunity of additional time for face-to-face interactions among APPs at live events would be beneficial in the future. ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER GRAND ROUNDS 3 Advanced Practice Provider Grand Rounds: Improving Interdepartmental Networking Chapter One: Nature of the Project Introduction to the Problem Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) together, for the purposes of this project, were identified as advanced practice providers (APPs). APPs have had few opportunities to step away from direct patient care to network with other APPs at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC). This lack of opportunity for interdepartmental networking in such a large organization lends itself to these providers working in silos, becoming experts within their specialty or department, without reaching out to other APPs in the organization to consult with them or share their expertise. When the author approached some APPs informally to inquire as to why they do not reach out to other APPs within the organization, knowing that they could benefit from their expertise, the primary answer was that they are unfamiliar with which APPs work in the various departments and specialties within the organization and, therefore, lack the confidence to reach out to individuals with whom they have had little to no contact with in the workplace. In August of 2014, a needs assessment of OSUWMC APPs revealed the following key points (Appendix A):  APPs think that a regularly scheduled continuing education process for APPs could lead to improved patient outcomes.  APPs think that continuing education opportunities should be provided by their employer.  APPs value the ability to contact an advanced practice colleague directly with a patient care question that requires expertise in another specialty.  APPs would like to have more opportunities to network with other APPs at their workplace. ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER GRAND ROUNDS 4 The needs assessment led to the implementation of bimonthly APP Grand Rounds (APPGR) in March of 2015 to improve interdepartmental collegiality and networking among APPs in various departments. Interdepartmental networking is defined as seeking advice or using information gained from interactions with APPs in other departments or specialties. Howell (2010) described that the person-to-person connection that comes from providing routine networking opportunities for health care providers in the workplace, such as grand rounds, has helped to build a culture of collegiality in health care organizations.