Learning Objective #1: demonstrate an understanding of whether clinical tools assist nurses with their nursing practice | |||
Learning Objective #2: identify the benefits of using factor analysis as a data reduction method |
Clinical
assessment is the crux of good nursing practice, yet it has become an all but
extinct art and the components which constitute clinical assessment have been
poorly articulated in the literature. A
comprehensive clinical assessment should form the basis for any planned nursing
intervention and provide a baseline against which any subsequent event can be
measured. As such, clinical assessment
is arguably the most important aspect of nursing care delivery and systematic
and on – going assessment is vital to monitoring the effectiveness of nursing
care.
Objective: It is the objective of this study to assess
whether the introduction of a structured daily clinical assessment tool assists
nurses in identifying actual and potential patient problems.
Design: An
exploratory correlational design was used for this
study.
Sample: As
the data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis the sample size was
based on the use of the tool, the tool contained 103 items therefore the sample
size for this study was 1030.
Method: The
clinical assessment tool was completed daily by the nurse, who indicated
whether or not the patient was exhibiting a particular clinical sign. From the
structured assessment the nurse then identified and documented any actual or
potential patient problems.
Results:
For data reduction purposes an exploratory factor analysis was conducted and a
series of multiple regression analyses then calculated to determine if the
patient problems which the nurses identified could be explained by a cluster of
clinical indicators.
Implications:
This initial testing of the assessment tool demonstrated that it has assisted the
nurse in identifying patient problems. From the analysis the tool will be
refined and a larger study will be conducted to determine whether the
assessment tool can be used as a predictor of patient outcome.