Critical Communication in Escalation of Care

This presentation will discuss a critical event, the barriers within escalation and what can be done within debriefing to improve outcomes. Communication during critical events can be very stressful for the family, nurse, care team, and the patient.  Critical events occur throughout hospital environments.  Debriefing can pinpoint areas of improvement while providing emotional support for those involved in the events.  Critical events occur when patients need escalation of care; such as the patient experiences a change in heart rate, blood pressure, levels of oxygen saturation, decreased level of consciousness. These events need to be examined in a safe and effective way that improves patient safety and decreases cost.  Active involvement of the entire team involved (including floor nurses) encourages patient safety and improved management of patients during critical events.  Debriefing identifies the knowledge gaps of the nursing staff. Debriefing allows the hospital to address inconsistencies in critical situations and educate to improve patient care. Debriefing reduces the costs by reducing errors and helps save lives.