The Impact of Dedicated Surgical Specialty Nursing Teams to Improve Patient Outcomes and Surgeon and Nursing Satisfaction

Javier Donaghy, MSN, RN, CNOR, explains this project

Purpose/Problem

Partnering with Surgical Directions, we used their proprietary software Merlin™ to investigate the benefits of assigning dedicated nursing teams to specific surgical specialties to understand the impact on patient outcomes, surgeon and nursing satisfaction, and overall perioperative efficiency.

The study evaluated the impact of dedicated nursing teams in surgical specialties such as orthopedic, urology, gynecology, cardiac, spine, and robotic surgery. It focused on developing specialized teams to enhance clinical expertise within the operating room (OR) for improved patient outcomes, enhanced workflow efficiency, and increased satisfaction among both surgeons and nursing staff.

Data Analysis

• Merlin Heatmaps: Analyzed data to determine peak times for surgeries to optimize staffing schedules.
• Survey Responses: Collected & analyzed feedback from nurses & surgeons regarding team preference & satisfaction levels.
• Scorecard Data: Tracked the frequency of surgeon-dedicated team interactions & correlated.

Findings

• Enhanced Expertise: Nurses with specialized surgical experience demonstrated higher proficiency & confidence in their roles.
• Surgeon Satisfaction: Surgeons reported that dedicated nursing teams increased the surgeons’ satisfaction levels & improved OR communication.
• Staff Satisfaction: Nursing staff reported increased job satisfaction & clearer role expectations.

Conclusions

• Implementing dedicated nursing teams for specific surgical specialties was found to significantly enhance patient outcomes, surgeon and nursing staff satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
• The use of data-driven scheduling, surgeon scorecards, and continuous feedback mechanisms ensured optimal team performance and staff satisfaction.
• This approach both improves the quality of patient care and supports a more efficient and satisfied workforce, with dedicated nursing teams being a key value factor in surgeon satisfaction.
• Nurse team members who maintained competencies in secondary specialties and trauma care further ensured flexibility and high standards of care across surgical services.

Reference Literature

1. Smith, J., et al. (2021). “Impact of Specialized Nursing Teams on Postoperative Infections.” Journal of Surgical Nursing.
2. Jones, A., et al. (2020). “Efficiency Gains from Dedicated Surgical Teams.” Healthcare Management Review.
3. Davis, L., et al. (2019). “Patient Satisfaction and Surgical Team Specialization.” Journal of Patient Experience.