Diabetes Mellitus Management in a Medical-Surgical Care Unit
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This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aspired to improve health outcomes for adult people living with type I and type II diabetes mellitus (T1DM, T2DM) hospitalized in the acute care inpatient hospital setting by using a diabetes mellitus (DM) algorithm that detailed how to enhance glycemic control. During acute hospitalization, people living with DM who experience uncontrolled blood glucose greater than 180 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) may experience complications and extended hospital stays. The DNP project involved a team that collaborated to create the DM algorithm, planned the quality improvement (QI) project, and implemented the QI project to help manage DM by decreasing hyperglycemic events. The DNP project was implemented in a medical-surgical care unit in an acute care inpatient hospital setting. Within two months after Institutional Board approval, healthcare providers and nurses were educated and trained to use the DM algorithm. The objectives of the project were to use the DM algorithm to decrease hyperglycemic events (blood sugar greater than 200 mg/dl) in people living with DM by 5% within one year, to monitor staff compliance with the use of the DM algorithm in the medical-surgical care unit within six months, and to sustain the practice to decrease hyperglycemic events (blood glucose greater than 200 mg/dl) by 10% within 18 months. The DM algorithm was developed and implemented in the Medical-Surgical Care Unit, followed by nurses’ education and training. The project was successful in lowering hyperglycemic events by 3.61%. Staff compliance with the use of the DM algorithm was 74.67%. The continuation of the project will lead to its sustainability.