Date of Completion
Fall 2026
Document Type
DNP Scholarly Project
Academic Department
School of Nursing
Degree Type
Doctoral
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
First Advisor
Dr. Amanda Graham
Abstract
Problem: On a 16-bed medically supervised detoxification unit at a northeast Ohio community hospital, the interprofessional team had no consistent, structured way to communicate after physician rounds, fragmenting coordination and threatening patient safety for a complex, co-occurring population. Organizational HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) communication scores fell below the 80% national benchmark, confirming a modifiable, systems-level concern.
Aim of the Project: The quality improvement (QI) project aimed to enhance care quality and coordination by standardizing a shared plan of care across the interprofessional team.
Review of the Evidence: A systematic search retained 12 articles supporting huddles as a low-cost strategy. Evidence converged on SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) to reduce handoff uncertainty. It linked huddle adoption to patient-safety gains and improved staff well-being, with time constraints and role ambiguity as barriers.
Project Design: The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Model for Improvement and the OhioHealth Change Management Model guided the initiative, supporting stakeholder engagement, staff education, and iterative workflow refinement during implementation and sustainability planning.
Intervention: The daily post-round huddle convened after physician rounds and initial nursing assessments, using the SBAR framework to structure discussion and a daily Participation Compliance Audit to track fidelity. Stakeholder feedback moved the start time from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. during the first PDSA cycle.
Significant Findings/Outcomes: Over 12 weeks, the huddle occurred on all 60 scheduled weekdays with 99.7% participation. SBAR fidelity improved steadily to 100%, and once the process stabilized, each patient discussion stayed at or under 10 minutes. The Huddle Feedback Questionnaire summary score reached 88.8%, exceeding the 80% adoption threshold.
Implications for Nursing: Fragmented interprofessional communication contributes to more than 70% of sentinel events and prolongs stays, increases avoidable readmissions, and increases mortality. On an acute behavioral health medical unit, a daily nurse-led, SBAR-structured post-round huddle counters that fragmentation by aligning every discipline around a shared plan and restoring whole-patient situational awareness. Findings support sustaining the huddle as a permanent unit standard, embedded in routine workflow and reinforced by consistent facilitation, targeted staff education, and leadership support.
Recommended Citation
Ramirez, Kristen, "Enhancing Collaboration Through Post-Round Huddles" (2026). All Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects. 82.
https://fuse.franklin.edu/dnp-project/82
Rights
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