Great Expectations: A Personalized Prenatal Nurse Visit

Poster Presentation

Purpose for the Program

The Great Expectations prenatal visit strives to increase patient awareness and knowledge of the labor process and, thereby, decrease her anxiety level about the birthing process and postpartum period.

Proposed Change

To create a positive birthing experience for families through education regarding topics such as pain management, breastfeeding, time for skin-to-skin contact, family bonding, family-centered services, environmental awareness, and support staff. The goal of the prenatal visit is to increase the number of patients receiving prenatal information through an innovative and alternative method that individually addresses different adult learning needs.

Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation

To execute the goal, prenatal patients who were 32 weeks gestation and beyond were scheduled for a 1-hour visit with a perinatal nurse. The visit was an extraordinary platform for the education of patients, and they were given a personalized tour of the facility and the opportunity to have their questions and concerns addressed. The visit, which was scheduled through the obstetric clinic, became an integral part of the prenatal care and the input and support from providers was vital to the success of the program.

Continuous evaluation of the program has illustrated that overall patient satisfaction has increased. Evaluation methods include the following: patient feedback during management rounds, patient survey scores, results from exclusive breastfeeding audits, discharge phone calls, and pain management scores. The success of the program is underscored when patients verbalize that they feel more knowledgeable and confident as a result of the education they received.

Implications for Nursing Practice

When nurses perform one-on-one education with patients, they advance nursing practice. The nurses are able to use their unique skills to implement an individualized and psychosocial assessment as well as recognize key education and knowledge gaps that may exist in patients. Additionally, by working together with providers, nurses become a key contributor to the multidisciplinary approach to care.