Nursing audit as an evaluation strategy of nursing records at a pediatric inpatient unit

Abstract

The present study evaluated nursing technicians' records in a paediatric inpatient unit of a university hospital in Belo Horizonte, MG. A nursing audit method was used. This is a retrospective, quantitative, transversal study which data was collected from 163 medical charts by means of a predetermined tool. Data was stratified into two categories ("legal aspects" and "nursing care") and evaluated according to work shift and the day of the week in which the records were compiled. Quantitative data was analysed through absolute and relative frequencies using a chi-square test with a significance level of p<0.05. The SPSS software version 15.0 was used. Records were analysed qualitatively through Carter's positivity index for the evaluation of nursing care. Results demonstrated that ethical and legal indicators such as professional's name, legible handwriting, nursing procedure scheduling, standardized acronyms ,and no blank spaces, presented a high percentage of documentation as well as indicators of nursing care related to skin colour and eliminations of body waste. In conclusion a medical record audit is a simple and effective method to evaluate, systematically, the quality of nursing technicians' records; actions can be then directed to nursing training through further education programs.