| Sumario: | Significance & Background: Enhancing patient safety, patient experience and employee engagement has been identified as key components of delivering high quality care. Nurse leader rounding was initiated to enhance the patient experience and proactively address inpatient service recovery. The adoption of structured leader rounding has a significant positive impact on the experience cancer patients receive in the hospital, allowing the clinical leader to assess patients' perception of care and the hospital environment (Ayaad et al, 2019). Establishing dedicated time for nurse leaders to round on their patients and the development of a nurse leader rounding bundle has been proven to increase patient satisfaction and employee engagement scores while strengthening perceptions of leadership visibility, teamwork and safety culture. Purpose: Oncology patients often endure prolonged emotionally and physically taxing hospitalizations. Effective leader rounding in this population requires empathy, compassion, and authentic presence. Conversations frequently involve complex issues such as symptom burden, end of life concerns, and environment of care. Balancing the demands of urgent staffing challenges and direct patient care responsibilities can impede leaders' ability to meet rounding expectations consistently. Interventions: A structured, empathetic strategy tailored to the unique needs of oncology patients was implemented to address barriers. Leaders established "sacred time" for uninterrupted rounding, enabling meaningful patient interactions. Nurse leaders wore white lab coats during rounds to reinforce leadership presence and create visibility among patients and staff. Standardized scripting emphasized empathy and symptom management ensuring each interaction was intentional and supportive. Recognizing the emotional toll of rounding in oncology, peer support and debriefing opportunities were made available to help sustain leader engagement and well-being. Results: Prior to the intervention, average compliance with leader rounding was 15%. Following implementation of sacred rounding time and the rounding bundle, compliance increased to 26%. Improvements were noted in HCAHPS scores related to nurse communication and as well as in employee engagement scores, reflecting enhances perceptions of leadership support, teamwork and safety. Discussion: This initiative improved rounding participation and fostered a more supportive rounding culture within oncology units. Tailoring communication scripts to oncology patients, incorporating prompts for symptom burden, emotional well-being, and spiritual need is essential. Structured nurse leader rounding with protected time demonstrates measurable value in enhancing the patient experience, staff engagement, and overall care quality in oncology specialty inpatient settings.
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