Authors

  1. Radhakrishnan, Kavita PhD, MSEE, RN
  2. Martin, Karen S. MSN, RN, FAAN
  3. Johnson, Karen E. PhD, RN
  4. Garcia, Alexandra A. PhD, RN, FAAN

Abstract

Home healthcare clinicians can benefit from the use of interprofessional standardized terminologies to more efficiently document and assess patient problems, describe and present clinician interventions, and measure the outcomes of care. The Omaha System is a research-based, comprehensive standardized terminology that can enable users to describe and measure the impact of nursing and healthcare services on patient care and outcomes. In this article, we (1) describe effective strategies for teaching the Omaha System to home healthcare agency staff, and (2) illustrate those strategies' effectiveness by presenting an example from an Omaha System Basic Workshop conducted in 2015. The 12 participants included home healthcare nursing administrators and clinicians, software developers from several companies, nursing educators, and nursing researchers. The role-playing and unfolding case studies that we report here represent teaching strategies that can provide opportunities for home healthcare users to practice using the Omaha System. Quantitative evaluation consisted of comparing the participants' pretest and posttest scores on the survey. Qualitative evaluation involved analyzing participants' feedback and comments on a form distributed at the end of the workshop. Participants found the workshop beneficial in improving their understanding of the Omaha System and its application to their practice.