Establishing a Military Nursing Outcomes Database

Bibliography

Name: Laura Brosch

Rank: LTC, USA

Organization: The Geneva Foundation

Performance Site: Bremerton Naval Hospital, Bremerton, WA; DeWitt Army Community Hospital, Fort Belvoir, VA; Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA; Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews AFB, MD; Oak Harbor Naval Hospital, Whidbey Island, WA; Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC; Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC

Year Published: 2002

Abstract Status: Initial

Abstract

Military nursing leaders are concerned with staffing effectiveness and patient safety. Concerns about the adequacy of nurse staffing have heightened as the nurse shortage has compromised the ability of military treatment facilities (MTFs) to recruit and retain nurses to meet their minimum staffing requirements. Having an adequate number of nurses at the bedside to care for patients is vital to ensure patient safety although there is little empirical evidence that can be used by leaders to determine safe and effective nurse to patient staffing ratios (Bolton, et al., 2001; Buerhaus & Needleham, 2000; Sovie & Jaward, 2001; Spetz, 2001).

The global aim of this long term, multi-staged military nursing research program is to create and implement a high quality database consisting of data related to nurse staffing effectiveness and patient safety indicators. These data could then be used to support evidence-based clinical and administrative decision-making, as well as research, in the Department of Defense.

This current proposal represents Stage Three of the research program. The aim of this stage is to expand the Military Nursing Outcomes Database (MilNOD) to seven MTFsùfour Army, two Navy, and one Air Force, and sustain the collection of high quality military patient safety and nurse staffing effectiveness data for a six month period. Analysis will include a variety of techniques and consist of examination of data elements and collection processes for reliability and validity.

Once this stage is completed and the quality of the database is verified, research efforts will shift to using data from the MilNOD to conduct research to advance evidence-based military health care and to expand the MilNOD across all Army, Navy and Air Force MTFs.