Implementation and Evaluation of the RECAP Framework: A Quality Improvement Initiative

<b>Background:</b> Narration of care (NOC) refers to a nurse's ability to explain the purposes, goals, and objectives of nursing tasks. In this project, narration of care (NOC) refers to real-time verbal explanation of nursing tasks and should not be confused with the Nursing Outcomes Classification, which uses the same acronym. Although NOC is recognized as a critical skill, little research exists on how to teach it or evaluate its use. A companion article describes the development of a NOC framework. This article focuses on implementation and observed changes during rollout. <b>Objective:</b> We aimed to describe the implementation of a discussion-based course designed to teach nurses and patient care assistants (PCAs)-collectively referred to as nursing staff-how to effectively narrate care, and to assess changes observed during the implementation period. <b>Methods:</b> We used a mixed-methods, pre- and post-implementation design across seven hospitals over six months (February-August 2023). Quantitative data included pre-post comparisons of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores (baseline: 2022; follow-up: 2024) and structured observations of nurse-patient interactions. Qualitative data from free-text course evaluations were thematically analyzed to contextualize quantitative findings. Integration occurred by comparing themes with observed practice gaps and patient experience trends. <b>Results: Course Evaluations:</b> In total, 7341 staff completed the course; 4185 evaluations were submitted. Ninety-five percent reported increased knowledge and rated the course highly. Common strategies cited included teach-back, reducing anxiety through NOC, active listening, and building personal connections. <b>HCAHPS Comparisons:</b> Five domains improved significantly post-implementation: care transitions (4.6, <i>p</i> = 0.001), cleanliness (3.9, <i>p</i> = 0.024), communication about medications (2.3, <i>p</i> = 0.042), discharge communication (2.7, <i>p</i> = 0.002), and restfulness (2.5, <i>p</i> = 0.015). <b>Practice Observations:</b> In total, 1281 observations were conducted. Observations indicated frequent use of several NOC-aligned behaviors and opportunities to improve narration of the environment and resolution of patient concerns. <b>Conclusions:</b> Improvements in patient experience measures and observed practices coincided with the course rollout. However, given the pre-post, uncontrolled design, causality cannot be inferred.