Was That in An Email? An Electronic Tool to Improve Nursing Communication Satisfaction

Background: Nursing communication satisfaction impacts engagement and turnover as well as patient care which affects organizational profits. Although direct care nurses report dissatisfaction with nurse manager communication methods, organizations and nurse managers do not utilize best practice strategies. In addition, there is a lack of high-quality implementation studies of best practice communication methods, specifically on obstetrics units, to assist managers in improving communication methods. Methods: An electronic communication tool was implemented on an inpatient obstetrics unit at a large tertiary hospital in the Upper Midwest. The tool was accessible on all unit computers on the SharePoint site. The project leader and unit stakeholders collaboratively updated the tool. Twenty-one direct care nurses completed the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire prior to and eight months after the implementation of the electronic tool. Results: The tool improved direct nurse communication satisfaction. Six factors showed statistical evidence of increased scores post-intervention (