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Date of Graduation
12-15-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
School of Nursing
Advisor(s)
Erika Metzler Sawin
Abstract
One of the goals and purposes of the urgent care setting is to provide quality patient care within a timely fashion. This process improvement project was designed to improve patient visit times in the urgent care setting, thus improving throughput. In this project, testing/imaging protocols were developed, agreed upon by the office healthcare providers, and utilized by clinical staff for patients who presented with complaints of 1) dysuria, 2) sore throat with an accompanying fever, 3) upper respiratory symptoms without an accompanying fever, 4) upper respiratory symptoms with an accompanying fever, and 5) an orthopedic injury known as a FOOSH (fall on outstretched hand) injury. Employing these protocols in the urgent care decreased the length of time for patients who presented with sore throat and fever by 28.7%, but for patients presenting with the other protocol complaints, there was no statistically significant decrease in the length of visit time. Despite the limited statistical significance, most of the protocols did produce a decreased length of stay time and should continue to be used. The clinic staff’s perceptions of project acceptability and feasibility were also evaluated, and they were shown to support the project.
Recommended Citation
Mason, Holly S., "Using clinical staff-initiated protocols in the urgent care setting to improve throughput" (2023). Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current. 33.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/dnp202029/33
