Undergraduate Nursing Students Improving Time to Treat

The introduction of an Undergraduate Student in Nursing (USIN) model of care for ECG performance was implemented. We have contracted 2.96FTE USiN to work 2 shifts 7days a week to implement a new waiting room model of care. The model of care is deliberately procedure/guideline driven given the limited scope of practice for the USIN group. All category 2 chest pain patients are ordered and ECG by the triage nurse and referred to the USIN for completion. We have set up a direct line of review for the ECGs with a dedicated SMO allocated to review ensuring quality review is undertaken. Using a USIN to perform the task of an ECG, similar to a technician position, has freed up nursing time to perform critical thinking and clinical prioritisation within the waiting room.

From a fiscal point of view, the USiN is also cheaper to add to a work force already stretched from budget perspective. It has seen an improvement in time-to-treat, specifically for the cohort of ATS Category 2 chest pain presentations. The key achievements to date, are an overall improvement in patient safety, improvement in time-to-treat measures and an immeasurable improvement in staff morale.