Contributions of rehabilitation nurses in an internal medicine service

Abstract

With the aging of the portuguese population, the increase in so-called chronic diseases, and the patients' higher level of dependence, the allocation of Rehabilitation Specialist Nurses (EEER) in Internal Medicine services have become essential, and it is important to assess their presence so that interventions can be planned.
This is a quantitative, cross-sectional, and retrospective study conducted at the ward of Medicine in a Hospital of North Portugal. The main purpose of this study is to characterize and describe the activity of rehabilitation nurses in the above-mentioned unit to foster a spirit of self-criticism, thus allowing for better planning of care provision.
During the period between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020, 1786 clients were admitted to the service in question; of these, 882 had rehabilitation nursing plans implemented. There were performed 4130 interventions of rehabilitation; the most frequent was "respiratory kinesiotherapy" and "muscle strengthening". The productivity of the two years was also compared (because the number of human resources was different, higher in 2020), and it was concluded that during 2020, 236 more clients were reached, which allows us to conclude that the response can be improved by allocating more rehabilitation nurses to the service. It is suggested that should be implemented specific programs for the most frequent pathologies (respiratory and circulatory diseases and disorders) and should be conducted randomized studies to study the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs.