Nursing research "Round-Up" shares best practices, advancements for patient care

By Maria Yager, Blanchfield Army Community HospitalDecember 10, 2019

Nursing research "Round-Up" shares best practices for patient care
Capt. Tori Meyer, a registered nurse, and federal employee Sherry Wood, a medical support assistant, both from Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, presented their team's research project during the hospital's Nursing Round-U... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A nursing team from Blanchfield Army Community Hospital's Intensive Care Unit was recognized for their clinical research and hope to share their study with nurses from across the military at a TriService Nursing Research Conference next year.

The TriService Nursing Research Program's Research and Evidence-based Practice Dissemination Course is a networking opportunity for Army, Navy and Air Force nursing professionals to present and share their research examining process improvement in military healthcare delivery systems and patient care.

The ICU team's research on "Effective Utilization of Timely Initiation of Intravenous Insulin Therapy" was selected as the hospital's top Nursing Round-Up project last month from more than a dozen research topics presented to BACH's Nursing Practice Council, an internal process improvement team found in both military and civilian hospitals.

The ICU team examined whether standardized diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) treatment protocol, utilizing timely initiation of intravenous insulin therapy beginning in the Emergency Department within two hours of patient diagnostic lab results, decrease patient treatment variability and improve patient safety in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus Type 1 and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.

Presenters, Capt. Tori Meyer, a registered nurse, and federal employee Sherry Wood, a medical support assistant, explained the diagnosis and incidence of DKA and HHS is a common reason for inpatient hospital admission and continues to rise in the United States. Their team sought to determine if a treatment protocol, which includes timely intervention of intravenous insulin therapy, can improve patient outcomes.

"Quality and process improvement will always be a part of patient care. That's how we get better. That's how we learn, that's how we improve, and that's how we continue to provide quality medical care to the ready medical force and a medically ready force," said Lt. Col. Michelle Wolf, chief of the hospital's Education and Staff Development Department, which sponsored the Nursing Round-Up. "It takes a lot of time, effort, and research and we just really appreciate the research our nurses are doing because it's not only for us to share but the benefit is for the patient."

One focus of military nursing research is to learn how to prevent, modify, or minimize negative health effects and optimize positive effects. Evidence-based research found in one military treatment facility has the potential to positively impact medical treatment throughout the entire military health system.

BACH's Nursing Round-Up judges included BACH commander, Col. Patrick T. Birchfield, a doctor of osteopathic medicine and board certified in Aerospace Medicine, BACH deputy commander for nursing, Col. Amanda Forristal, a registered nurse and certified nurse midwife, Dr. Rebecca Corvey, who was serving as Austin Peay State University Director of Nursing, and APSU nursing professor Dr. Grace Moodt.

"Nursing has a history of including education and experience in research. We practice based on standards of practice that come through research at the bedside. This event today is an excellent example of how the research the nurses do on a daily basis is served to change how they do patient care and improve their patient care for their patients," said Corvey. "It is an expected part of being a professional nurse. The projects presented here today were beyond my expectations in terms of quality, breadth of topics and the enthusiasm of the staff that presented here."

Birchfield was pleased with the nursing research and looks forward to his team sharing their research at the TriService event.

"They put forth a lot of effort. In viewing and listening to the presenters you can tell an extreme amount of thinking and collaboration went into developing projects that would help the hospital in ways that are meaningful to the patients and for our surrounding community. I'd like to thank all of the Nurse Corps officers who put this together, who developed the teams, who developed the ways to grade them and recognize the hard work of each team member represented," added Birchfield.

The TriService EBP Dissemination Course will be held April 27-30, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas.

To learn more about sharing research from your military treatment facility visit the TriService Nursing Program website at https://www.usuhs.edu/tsnrp/annual.