Improving Documentation
Publication Date
Spring 3-18-2026
College
Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing
Department
Nursing, School of
Student Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor
Linda Wofford
Presentation Type
Gallery
Summary
Group 3: Improving documentation
Group members: Jamie Anderson, McKenzie Brinkley, and Lydia Mazengia
SPARK Summary
Our change project aims to improve documentation accuracy through the implementation of collaborative documentation practices. The collaborative documentation process actively partners clinicians and clients in interactions regarding assessment and service planning. Effective documentation skills are essential to patient safety, continuity of care, and prevention of medication errors; however, many healthcare professionals are not adequately documenting client interactions. We interviewed a pediatric clinic in Nashville, whose main communication issue is related to incomplete or delayed documentation. The implementation plan includes requiring all the staff attend meetings about not only how collaborative documentation works and its benefits, but also documentation standards. The clinic will achieve this over 10 weeks which consists of baseline audits during the first 5 weeks, training, implementation, and lastly evaluation. Feedback sessions to identify needed workflow adjustments will address the potential disruptions and time burden of the proposed change. After implementing these steps, we will conduct additional audits and staff surveys to assess impact. Audits will measure thorough, accurate, and complete documentation while the Mini Z burnout scale survey will evaluate attitudes toward documentation burden. Sustainability for collaborative documentation includes policy integration, onboarding education for new staff, and periodic audits to verify compliance. Our change project is expected to improve documentation, and in turn improve patient safety and care.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Jamie N.; Mazengia, Lydia M.; and brinkley, McKenzie A., "Improving Documentation" (2026). SPARK Symposium Presentations. 644.
https://repository.belmont.edu/spark_presentations/644
