5 strategies to train nurse leaders in effective rounding

If you’re in healthcare, you’ve probably heard about the impact of nurse rounding on patient outcomes. 

Hospitals implementing structured rounding processes have witnessed a 50% reduction in patient falls and a 52% decrease in call light usage.

But here’s the catch—not all rounding is equally effective. 

Can transforming patient care really be as simple as walking into a room? The practice of nurse leader rounding proves that it can. 

Proper patient-rounding training and education are key to resolving the dichotomy between quality and quantity. For nurse leaders to truly make a difference, proper training, and resources are essential.  

2022 NRC Health Symposium speaker Pam Collins, MSN, CMSRN, MEDSURG-BC, NPD-BC, Enterprise Service Line Educator with Atrium Health, says a nurse leader rounding strategy is powerful when you have communication feedback, cadence empowerment, and workflow professionalism.

“Patient experience is rated higher by patients who recall,” Collins says. “Are we making it memorable? Only 12% of the adult population is proficient in health literacy skills. That means we must work extra hard to make it memorable. It can’t be something like, ‘How’s it going?’ And there’s something about leaning in that makes it authentic.”

Below, Collins shares the top five strategies for training nurse leaders in effective rounding to ensure better patient care and safety every step of the way. 

1. Carve out time to accomplish nurse leader rounding

An effective leadership rounding workflow begins with a consistent rounding time. Establishing a fixed routine helps establish consistency. 

Leaders should:

• Schedule specific hours, like a “Golden Hour,” for daily rounding—for instance, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., when patient activity is lower.
• Prioritize rounds strategically. Address newly admitted patients, those preparing for discharge, and high-priority cases first.
• Round by nurse-patient assignment.

“The research strongly suggests a better outcome when we have a designated time,” Collins says. “Even if we don’t make it all, carve out that time. When I was a medical surgical unit manager, we didn’t have a formal name for it. Half of my patients I rounded on in the morning, and the other half were in the afternoon. But my staff knew that between those particular hours, that’s what I would be doing, so they came to expect it.”

2. Make that first impression count

Think of rounding as a first handshake with your patients and their families. 

Patients are 8.6 times more likely to attribute higher quality care when nurse communication is highly rated. Nurse leaders play a pivotal role in ensuring this perception becomes a reality.

Nurse leaders should:

• Dress professionally, wearing a clean, white lab coat, and avoid using distracting accessories or fragrances.
• Greet patients warmly, using their names and making genuine eye contact.
• Smile! This simple gesture reduces patient anxiety and sets a positive tone for the interaction.

Collins explains that patients will rate the quality of care and the knowledge base higher for care providers who are in uniform colors. 

“If I have on black scrub pants and a red scrub up top, and you’ve got on blue and blue, they will automatically think you are more knowledgeable and have a higher skill set because of the uniformity of color,” she says. Research shows that patients rate the quality of care higher from care providers who wear white lab coats.

3. Use Atrium Health’s GREAT communication model

The ability to connect is fundamental during leadership rounding. 

Atrium Health’s GREAT communication model is a helpful guide:

• Greet the patient with a warm smile and introduction.
• Relate to their situation and concerns.
• Explain the purpose of the rounding visit to set clear expectations.
• Ask open-ended questions to elicit meaningful dialogue.
• Thank them sincerely for sharing their feedback and insights.

Purposeful, guided conversations enhance the patient experience and create opportunities to identify pain points while proactively preventing issues like fall risks or unmet care needs.

“Use your keywords,” Collin advises. “For us, it’s visit and leader, so we repeat that consistently. Everybody who rounds wants to affect a patient’s recall. We’re making it memorable because we have developed a cadence for how we’re going to round.”

4. Close the feedback loop

Rounding is incomplete without meaningful follow-up. Effective nurse leaders must:

• Provide personalized feedback to the patient’s primary nurse, striking a balance between constructive critique and praise.
• Offset one to two opportunities with two to three positives
• Always start with the positive
• Avoid lengthy feedback

Studies demonstrate that when leadership prioritizes patient feedback, engagement soars. With proactive coaching and transparent follow-up, patients and staff alike see improved advocacy and collaborative care.

“After we have rounded, it’s time to give feedback and some coaching,” Collins says. “So positives should overshadow the areas of opportunity, and the term weakness should never be used, because it does not empower. There are only opportunities, not weaknesses. If several opportunities are identified, then prioritize which ones should be mentioned to avoid the perception of presenting a laundry list.”

Digital platforms like NRC Health’s Rounding can offer predictive analytics with automated email reports, empowering leaders and streamlining practices.

5. Empower your frontline

Empowering bedside nurses is critical for sustainable leadership rounding. 

Ways to encourage them include:

• Elevate their impact by sharing rounding data and linking outcomes to specific actions.
• Recognize and reward exceptional performance during staff meetings or through internal communications.
• Partner with frontline nurses to co-create rounding initiatives, ensuring buy-in and resonance with day-to-day challenges.

Recognizing the efforts of frontline staff builds stronger teams and inspires accountability. Remember, frontline engagement often determines the success or stagnation of rounding programs.

“We can avoid pushback if we EMPOWER,” Collins says. “Our frontline staff are big drivers of our success, actually doing the rounding, medicating, and assessing. We have a tool that collects that data, and they’re supposed to enter the rounds. When a round is done, we encourage it to be done outside the room because it makes patients feel a little uncomfortable. Nurse rounding leaders enter it, and if they don’t, they don’t get credit for it. So even if they say, ‘Well, I know I rounded,’ it doesn’t count. And they can’t go in the next day to document for the previous day, so it’s pretty hardwired, and it works.”

Purposeful rounding has become the gold standard in nursing care, and for good reason. It’s proactive rather than reactive. Instead of waiting for a problem (like a fall or a call light), nurses address needs before they arise. Here’s how: 

• Patient safety: Frequent checks reduce the risks of falls and pressure injuries.
• Proactive issue resolution: By addressing concerns during rounds, downtime spent responding to call lights decreases.
• Staff unity: Consistent communication fosters trust among teams and improves morale.
• Leadership visibility: Nurse leaders become more approachable, which reinforces their commitment to high-quality care.

The takeaway? When done intentionally, rounding leads to measurable improvements in patient outcomes and satisfaction. 

Organizations that prioritize training and supporting nurse leaders in rounding experience a reduction in fall rates, increased patient satisfaction, and better operational efficiency. 

At the heart of nurse leader rounding is a simple goal: improving patient care. 

Investing in staff training, the right tools, and leadership first-hand involvement ensures that purposeful rounding becomes a core pillar of care delivery in any facility.  

Looking to equip your nurse leaders with actionable strategies? Explore how NRC Health’s Rounding platform can upgrade your care model. Contact us today to learn more!