Commit to Sit: Does Purposefully Sitting with Adult Medical-Surgical Patients at a Rural Hospital Impact Patient Satisfaction?

Author

Jolie A. Puckett, Jacksonville State UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

DNP Executive Summary

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Department

Nursing

Faculty Chair

Ashlie Barnes, DNP, CRNP, AGACNP-BC

Preceptor

Rachel Risner, DO

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction surveys encourage patients to provide feedback about their experiences with healthcare organizations, and the surveys also play a critical role in identifying gaps in care that may contribute to patient harm. Effective communication between nurses and patients is crucial for delivering high-quality healthcare; therefore, initiatives to enhance this communication should be explored and implemented.

Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate whether sitting with patients improved patient satisfaction scores for a medical-surgical unit within a Northwest Georgia inpatient facility.

Project Design: A pre- and post-design method was utilized to compare patient satisfaction scores before and after the implementation of the Commit to Sit initiative. This evidence-based initiative encourages nurses to purposefully engage with patients by sitting with them during each shift. All patients discharged home from the facility received a standardized patient satisfaction survey. Data regarding nurse communication from the post-hospitalization discharge survey was analyzed over eight weeks during the quality improvement project implementation.

Results: Patient satisfaction scores related to nursing communication rose by an average of 12.43% following the implementation of Commit to Sit.

Conclusion: When nurses sit with patients, this effort enhances their therapeutic relationship and improves communication, thereby increasing patient satisfaction regarding nursing communication.

Recommended Citation

Puckett, Jolie A., "Commit to Sit: Does Purposefully Sitting with Adult Medical-Surgical Patients at a Rural Hospital Impact Patient Satisfaction?" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 142.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/142