Brief Bio

René Schwendimann, PhD, RN, director of education at the Institute of Nursing Science (INS) at the University of Basel, Switzerland, is a consulting professor at DUSON under a Swiss research grant on an international postdoctoral fellowship. He holds a diploma in Psychiatric Nursing from Südhalde, Zurich, Switzerland; a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Maastricht, Netherlands; and a PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Basel, Switzerland. His experience includes 30 years in a variety of clinical, administrative and teaching positions in nursing homes, hospitals and in academia.

Dr. Schwendimann’s area of research comprises patient falls prevention in the institutional setting. He is particularly interested in patient safety culture and clinical outcomes. His early research program included a series of retrospective and prospective studies in which he reported relevant issues of patient falls in the hospital setting in his doctoral thesis entitled “Patient Falls: A Key Issue in Patient Safety in Hospitals.” His post-doctoral activities built on preliminary work completed in Switzerland such as the Patient Safety and Clinical Outcomes research program, as well as collaborative work with the Basel-Leuven Falls Prevention research group.

During his tenure at Duke, he is focusing on expanding his expertise in the area of patient safety and quality of care. This involves an ongoing joint research project with Dr. J. Bryan Sexton at the Duke University Health System’s Patient Safety Office to analyze patient safety study data (e.g., safety attitudes questionnaire, in-patient falls, staffing & skills mix and patient flow) from Swiss and U.S. hospitals. He has received invitations to sit in on and/or visit, hospital and health system committees that specifically address quality improvement, education, safety culture, medication safety, incident reporting, safety assessment and patient advocacy.

Academic Program Affiliations

Education

Awards and Honors

Areas of Expertise

• Quality of Care / Patient Safety

Representative Publications

• 2012 -- Pubmed # 22404146 Jeitziner, M., Schwendimann, R., Hamers, J. P., Rohrer, O., Hantikainen, V., Jakob, S. M. Assessment of pain in sedated and mechanically ventilated patients: an observational study. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. May 1, 2012; 56(5); 645-54

• 2012 -- Pubmed # 22243990 Kumar, D., Geller, F., Wang, L., Wagner, B., Fitz-Gerald, M. J., Schwendimann, R. Wernicke's Encephalopathy in a Patient with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Psychosomatics. March 1, 2012; 53(2); 172-4

• 2012 -- Pubmed # 22271430 Ausserhofer, D., Schubert, M., Engberg, S., Blegen, M., De, G., Schwendimann, R. Nurse-reported patient safety climate in Swiss hospitals - a descriptive-explorative substudy of the Swiss RN4CAST study. Swiss Med Wkly. December 1, 2012; 142 0

• 2012 -- Pubmed # 22434089 Aiken, L. H., Sermeus, W., Van den Heede, K., Sloane, D. M., Busse, R., McKee, M., Bruyneel, L., Rafferty, A. M., Griffiths, P., Moreno-Casbas, M. T., Tishelman, C., Scott, A., Brzostek, T., Kinnunen, J., Schwendimann, R., Heinen, M., Zikos, D., Sjetne, I. S., Smith, H. L., Kutney-Lee, A. Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care: cross sectional surveys of nurses and patients in 12 countries in Europe and the United States. BMJ. December 1, 2012; 344 e1717

• 2011 -- Pubmed # 22035966 Devriendt, E., Van den Heede, K., Coussement, J., Dejaeger, E., Surmont, K., Heylen, D., Schwendimann, R., Sexton, B., Wellens, N. I., Boonen, S., Milisen, K. Content validity and internal consistency of the Dutch translation of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire: An observational study. Int J Nurs Stud. October 28, 2011; 24(5); 293-6

• 2011 -- Pubmed # 22066160 Schwendimann, R. [Post doc in the USA - a report of experiences]. Pflege. October 1, 2011; 24(5); 293-6

• 2011 -- Pubmed # 20978405 Bernhart-Just, A., Lassen, B., Schwendimann, R. Representing the nursing process with nursing terminologies in electronic medical record systems: a Swiss approach. Comput Inform Nurs. February 17, 2011; 28(6); 345-52

• 2011 -- Zürcher, S., Saxer, S., Schwendimann, R. Urinary incontinence in hospitalised elderly patients: do nurses recognise and manage the problem? Nursing Research and Practice. 2011; 2011(Article ID 671302); 5 pp

• 2011 -- Pubmed # 21994838 Zürcher, S., Saxer, S., Schwendimann, R. Urinary incontinence in hospitalised elderly patients: do nurses recognise and manage the problem? Nurs Res Pract. December 1, 2011; 2011(2); 671302

• 2010 -- Pubmed # 21154248 Zúñiga, F., Jenni, G., Wiesli, U., Schwendimann, R. [Development of the role of an Advanced Practice Nurse in the long-term care of elderly people in Switzerland]. Pflege. December, 2010; 23(6); 375-83

• 2010 -- Pubmed # 20738740 De Geest, S., Sullivan Marx, E. M., Rich, V., Spichiger, E., Schwendimann, R., Spirig, R., Van Malderen, G. Developing a financial framework for academic service partnerships: models of the United States and Europe. J Nurs Scholarsh. September 1, 2010; 42(3); 295-304

• 2010 -- Pubmed # 20886777 Ausserhofer, D., Schubert, M., Schwendimann, R. [Risk lies in failing systems]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2010; 103(9); 34-5

• 2010 -- Pubmed # 20446407 Schwendimann, R. [Institute for Nursing Education at Basel University (Switzerland). Result of position after ten years]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2010; 103(4); 24

• 2010 -- De Geest, S., Ausserhofer, D., Desmedt, M., Schubert, S., Schwendimann, R. Patient safety and quality: Is it worthwhile to invest in nursing care? In Third International Symposium on Health Workforce Proceedings, Neuchatel (CH) October 14-16, 2009, edited by Moore, J.M., Roberto Dal Poz, M., Perfilieva, G., Jaccard-Ruedin, H., & Bui Dang Ha Doan 2010; pp. 7-17. Paris: Centre de Sociologie et de Démographie Médicales.

• 2010 -- Schubert, S., Schwendimann, R., Ausserhofer, D., Desmedt, M., De Geest, S. Patient safety and quality: Is it worthwhile to invest in nursing care? In Third International Symposium on Health Workforce Proceedings, Neuchatel (CH) October 14-16, 2009, edited by Moore, J.M., Roberto Dal Poz, M., Perfilieva, G., Jaccard-Ruedin, H., & Bui Dang Ha Doan 2010; pp. 257-274. Paris: Centre de Sociologie et de Démographie Médicales.

• 2010 -- Portenier, L., Bischoff, A., Schwendimann, R., Barth, A.R., Spirig, R.. Pflege [Nursing in Switzerland] In Gesundheitswesen Schweiz 2010-2012 (4th Ed.), edited by 2010; Bern: Verlag Hans Huber.

• 2009 -- Pubmed # 19943228 Müller, R., Halfens, R., Schwendimann, R., Müller, M., Imoberdorf, R., Ballmer, P. E. [Risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries in an acute care hospital--a retrospective case control study]. Pflege. December, 2009; 22(6); 431-41

• 2009 -- Pubmed # 19731893 Kazis, C., Schwendimann, R. Bringing nursing to the public. J Nurs Educ. November, 2009; 48(11); 642-7

• 2009 -- Pubmed # 18986651 Cina-Tschumi, B., Schubert, M., Kressig, R. W., De Geest, S., Schwendimann, R. Frequencies of falls in Swiss hospitals: concordance between nurses' estimates and fall incident reports. Int J Nurs Stud. February, 2009; 46(2); 164-71

• 2009 -- Pubmed # 19202750 De Geest, S., Schubert, M., Schwendimann, R. [Prognosis modeling in care planning]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2009; 102(1); 26, 52, 62

• 2009 -- Schubert, M., Schwendimann, R., Giger, M., De Geest, S. Neue Betreuungsmodelle der Gesundheitsversorgung [New models of Care] In Handbuch Gesundheitswesen Schweiz im Umbruch, edited by Oggier, W., Walter, A., Reichlin, S., & Egli, M. 2009; : Trend Care AG, eHealthCare.ch..

• 2008 -- Pubmed # 18460867 Schwendimann, R., Bühler, H., De Geest, S., Milisen, K. Characteristics of hospital inpatient falls across clinical departments. Gerontology. November, 2008; 54(6); 342-8

• 2008 -- Pubmed # 18850535 Schmid-Büchi, S., Rettke, H., Horvath, E., Marfurt-Russenberger, K., Schwendimann, R. [The "Zurich Quality Model of Nursing Care", based on the "Quality of Health Outcome Model" (QHOM): a new perspective in measuring quality in nursing care]. Pflege. October, 2008; 21(5); 309-17

• 2008 -- Coussement, J., De Paepe, L., Schwendimann, R., Denhaerynck, K., Dejaeger, E., Milisen, K. Response letter to Dr. Oliver: Preventing falls in hospitals - Interpreting the evidence. J Am Geriatr Soc. September, 2008; 56(9); 1775-1776

• 2008 -- Pubmed # 18031484 Coussement, J., De Paepe, L., Schwendimann, R., Denhaerynck, K., Dejaeger, E., Milisen, K. Interventions for preventing falls in acute- and chronic-care hospitals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc. January, 2008; 56(1); 29-36

• 2008 -- Pubmed # 18613470 Schwendimann, R. [Anxiety about falls]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2008; 101(6); 30-1

• 2008 -- Pubmed # 19133557 Cina-Tschumi, B., Schaffert-Witvliet, B., Schwendimann, R. [Nurses represent "security measures"]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2008; 101(12); 30-1

• 2008 -- Schwendimann, R. (Ed.) Stürze und Sturzprävention für PflegeassistentInnen, [Avoiding Falls: A Guidebook for Certified Nursing Assistants] 2008; Bern: Verlag Hans Huber.

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 18200981 Schwendimann, R. [Do patients have a greater incidence of falls in the hospital during full moon than normally?]. Pflege Z. December, 2007; 60(12); 665

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 17493192 Milisen, K., Staelens, N., Schwendimann, R., De Paepe, L., Verhaeghe, J., Braes, T., Boonen, S., Pelemans, W., Kressig, R. W., Dejaeger, E. Fall prediction in inpatients by bedside nurses using the St. Thomas's Risk Assessment Tool in Falling Elderly Inpatients (STRATIFY) instrument: a multicenter study. J Am Geriatr Soc. May, 2007; 55(5); 725-33

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 17624015 Schwendimann, R., de Geest, S., Milisen, K. Screening older patients at risk for falling during hospitalization. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot. March, 2007; 14(1); 64-5

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 17972600 Schwendimann, R. ["The way it works, one must decide to achieve the best possibilities"]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2007; 100(10); 30-1

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 17285911 Schmid-Büchi, S., Rettke, H., Horvath, E., Marfurt-Russenberger, K., Schwendimann, R. [Developing a new mode. Building and examining nursing quality]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2007; 100(1); 17-9

• 2007 -- Pubmed # 17598354 Schwendimann, R., Sidler, P., Rechsteiner, M., Simon, M. [Recognition and treatment are not always easy]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2007; 100(6); 12-5, 64-7

• 2006 -- Pubmed # 17133305 Jeitziner, M. M., Schwendimann, R. [Identification of pain in the case of patients under sedation and artificial ventilation: A systematic literature review]. Pflege. December, 2006; 19(6); 335-44

• 2006 -- Pubmed # 16759386 Schwendimann, R., Bühler, H., De Geest, S., Milisen, K. Falls and consequent injuries in hospitalized patients: effects of an interdisciplinary falls prevention program. BMC Health Serv Res. June, 2006; 6(6); 69 PMCID: PMC1534028

• 2006 -- Pubmed # 16527829 Schwendimann, R., De Geest, S., Milisen, K. Evaluation of the Morse Fall Scale in hospitalised patients. Age Ageing. May, 2006; 35(3); 311-3

• 2006 -- Pubmed # 16544453 Schwendimann, R., Milisen, K., Bühler, H., De Geest, S. Fall prevention in a Swiss acute care hospital setting Reducing multiple falls. J Gerontol Nurs. March, 2006; 32(3); 13-22

• 2005 -- Pubmed # 16225704 Schwendimann, R., Joos, F., De Geest, S., Milisen, K. Are patient falls in the hospital associated with lunar cycles? A retrospective observational study. BMC Nurs. October, 2005; 4(3); 5 PMCID: PMC1274330

• 2005 -- Pubmed # 15835457 Schwendimann, R., Scherer, M. [Slices of hospital life. New culture and quality of cooperation]. Krankenpfl Soins Infirm. 2005; 98(3); 10-2

• 2004 -- Pubmed # 15129306 Milisen, K., De Geest, S., Schuurmans, M., Steeman, E., Habets, H., Defloor, T., Schwendimann, R., European Nursing Academy for Care of Older persons, Meeting the challenges for gerontological nursing in Europe: The European Nursing Academy for Care of Older persons (ENACO). J Nutr Health Aging. 2004; 8(3); 197-9

• 2000 -- Pubmed # 10969583 Schwendimann, R. [Prevention of falls in acute hospital care. Review of the literature]. Pflege. June, 2000; 13(3); 169-79

• 1998 -- Pubmed # 10427278 Schwendimann, R. [Frequency and circumstances of falls in acute care hospitals: a pilot study]. Pflege. December, 1998; 11(6); 335-41

Grant Funding (selected)