Date of Award
Summer 2026
Document Type
DNP Executive Summary
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Family Nurse Practitioner
Department
Nursing
Faculty Chair
Dr. Douglas Stephens
Preceptor
Dr. Beverly Sims
Mentor
Brian Sims, MD, PhD
Abstract
Background: Procedure room turnaround time in advanced gastroenterology is defined as the interval between one patient exiting the procedure room and the subsequent patient entering. Prolonged turnaround times contribute to decreased operational efficiency, delays in care delivery, and suboptimal resource utilization. Current facility turnaround time is 39 minutes, and there is no standardized policy to guide the turnaround process.
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop a standardized operating procedure that guides policy change in advanced gastroenterology through implementing a sustainable turnaround process that reduces procedure room turnaround time.
Project Design: The quality improvement initiative used a pre-post design, comparing turnaround times from aggregated data from 2025 to an eight-week project implementation period in 2026. The primary intervention involved assigning a designated turnaround nurse role to streamline workflow and improve efficiency, with the goal of reducing overall turnaround times.
Results: Post-intervention analysis demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in average turnaround times, decreasing from 39 minutes to 22.49 minutes over eight weeks. Conclusion: By implementing a dedicated turnaround nurse, turnaround time can be decreased, workflow efficiency improved, and operational performance enhanced through a replicable framework that supports long-term clinical sustainability.
Recommended Citation
Prewitt, Aundrea, "Optimizing Workflow in Advanced Gastroenterology: An Initiative to Improve Turnaround Times" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 150.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/150
DNP Poster