• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Priming staff into survey action

Nurse Leader Weekly, May 26, 2008

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

Being prepared for Joint Commission surveys may take on a new meaning if your facility is faced with three of them in a four month span.

When Susan Carvalho, RN, BSN, stepped in as director of quality and Joint Commission coordinator at Memorial Hospital Miramar (MHM) in Florida, she encountered a trial by fire: an unannounced lab survey in November 2007, an extension survey the following month, and a triennial survey in February 2008.Still staff members were ready.

"Miramar was well prepared for anybody to walk in any day," says Brenda Summers, MBA/MHA, MSN, RN, CNAA-BC, a senior consultant at The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc., in Marblehead, MA. "It's not preparation; it's living what you're supposed to be doing [for survey preparedness]."

MHM sends out a beeper blast to alert the necessary management that The Joint Commission has arrived.

"It's interesting to try and mobilize while they're at home still getting ready for work," says Carvalho. "Truthfully, when I put this [beeper blast plan] in place, the main advice I gave them was: Treat it like a disaster."

Practice paid off.

"What I found was that because everyone knew their roles . . . while I was busy doing one thing, a million other things were happening behind the scenes," says Carvalho. "Rehearsing your plan is key."

Editor's Note: This excerpt was adapted from the article, Hospital takes on three surveys in four months: New survey coordinator weathers triennial, lab, extension surveys featured in the Reading Room on HCPro's new online resource center, www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com. Get a free trial membership that will give you 30 days to "test drive" all the exciting features on the Web site.

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Weekly!

• Comment
• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive

Comments