Leading Organizations for Quality Improvement Initiatives
DISCUSSION RESPONSE
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses and
respondt two of your colleagues by expanding upon your colleague’s post or offering an alternative interpretation of the error rate described by your colleague.
PEER #1
Diane Rivero
Initial Post
Quality Improvement (QI) Initiative
According to
Gagnon (2023), quality improvement encompasses a systematic approach that uses data to improve safety and quality of care delivery. QI emphasizes equitable, timely, safe, patient-centered, and effective care (Gagnon, 2023). For this discussion, my selected QI initiative is to reduce medication errors, thus reducing any related adverse events. I selected this initiative because administering medicines is crucial in ensuring the patient’s health, safety, and well-being. Administering medication is a complex process where a multi-disciplinary care team collaborates to ensure patient-centered care delivery (Gagnon, 2023). For effective patient care outcomes, healthcare professionals must ensure they provide the correct medication, at the appropriate time, to the right patient, and for the proper health condition.
In case of adverse events of medication errors in my nursing practice or healthcare organization, effective communication is preferred as the best approach to address them. Our organization encourages all healthcare providers to communicate with patients, other care providers, and the families of their patients about what happened, why it occurred, and the appropriate steps to prevent such events from reoccurring. For example, our organization ensures we all receive appropriate training to understand the importance of open communication when consulting or asking for assistance to ensure we deliver high-quality care services. Failure to address medication errors can significantly affect both public and internal perspectives on our care quality. For instance, patients and their families may find it challenging to trust our healthcare services, adversely affecting our reputation.
From my selected article by MacDowell, Cabri, & Davis (2021), the estimated error rate is 8-25% during medication administration. While my nursing practice and healthcare organization do not have such a higher error rate, it can adversely affect patients, resulting in a lack of patient trust, increased death rates, chronic conditions, adverse drug events, hospital admission and stay, and additional health costs. For instance, if a patient receives the wrong medication for the proper health condition, chances of improving their health become minimal, jeopardizing their well-being.
References
Gagnon, D. (2023).
What is quality improvement in healthcare? Southern New Hampshire University – Online & On-Campus Degrees | SNHU. https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/health/what-is-quality-improvement-in-healthcare
MacDowell, P., Cabri, A., & Davis, M. (2021).
Medication administration errors. PSNet. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/medication-administration-errors
PEER #2
Maintaining the highest standard of patient care is crucial in the ever-changing healthcare environment. This commitment calls for carefully examining and correcting any possible mistakes in nursing practice. This discussion aims to analyze the implications of potential errors in nursing practice by drawing insights from recent studies, such as Benton’s investigation into the influence of nurses’ personal beliefs on sexual health education, Rio’s study on NICU discharge planning, and Woo & Kim’s study on factors influencing secondary traumatic stress among nurses. We can clarify tactics that healthcare organizations may use to promote patient safety, raise the standard of care generally, and encourage a continuous improvement culture inside nursing practices by comprehending the difficulties that this research indicates.
Selected QI Initiative
Considering the available materials, especially the publications by Rio et al. (2021), Woo & Kim (2021), and Benton (2021), I selected Quality Improvement (QI) project aimed is improving the mental health and wellbeing of nursing personnel. According to Woo & Kim’s study, the project would entail putting in place extensive mental health resources and support networks to address the causes that lead to secondary traumatic stress disorder among nurses.
This initiative’s justification stems from the knowledge that nurses frequently work in high-stress settings with trauma exposure, demanding workloads, and insufficient support. These pressures hurt mental health, which can result in burnout and worse standards of patient care. The organization may improve patient outcomes by cultivating a healthier and more resilient workforce by prioritizing the mental health of its nursing personnel.
Handling the Adverse Events
To guarantee patient safety and ongoing quality improvement, our healthcare organization manages adverse events transparently and organized. Healthcare workers, especially nurses, are urged to report unfavorable events via a recognized incident reporting system as soon as possible. This sets off a comprehensive inquiry by a multidisciplinary team of experts from nursing, medical, and administration, among other fields. The group examines the underlying reasons for the unfavorable occurrence, pinpoints its contributing elements, and works together to create plans of action to stop it from happening again. Crucially, this approach emphasizes learning over placing blame, encouraging a culture of accountability and ongoing development among healthcare professionals.
Internally, by encouraging a culture of responsibility and openness, this strategy significantly affects the quality of healthcare. Healthcare personnel can actively participate in quality improvement programs in an atmosphere where unfavorable occurrences are openly acknowledged, and there is a commitment to learning from them. This institutional viewpoint supports a strong culture of patient safety by continuously implementing evidence-based procedures meant to reduce risks and improve the standard of treatment. This dedication to openness and ongoing development can affect how the general public views the caliber of healthcare on the outside. By taking a proactive stance towards patient safety, an organization may convey to the general public that it places a high value on responsibility and is committed to providing safe, high-quality healthcare.
Error Rates of the Chosen Articles from the Resources
The data presented in the publications by Benton (2021), Rio et al. (2021), and Woo & Kim (2021) did not expressly state an error rate. On the other hand, we may deduce probable locations of nursing practice mistakes and their connections to a healthcare organization from the shared information.
As Benton (2021) points out, mistakes in the context of sexual health education might appear as patients receiving erroneous or incomplete information. For example, a nurse may not provide patients with the best education possible if they have prejudiced opinions or do not have up-to-date knowledge on delicate subjects related to sexual health. The company should reduce these mistakes in the future by offering frequent training courses to ensure nurses are knowledgeable and maintaining lines of contact for candid discussions about personal prejudices (Benton, 2020).
According to Rio et al. (2021), mistakes may be made when it comes to discharge planning for moms in the intensive care unit (NICU) since this might increase unexpected healthcare use. One instance would be if moms were given insufficient instructions on how to take care of an early baby at home, leaving them feeling unprepared and prompting them to seek out extra medical assistance. Standardized discharge procedures and thorough follow-up care can reduce these mistakes and improve the organization’s NICU mother care quality (Rio et al., 2020).
Potential staffing and resource allocation problems are mentioned by Woo & Kim (2021) about nurse burnout and secondary traumatic stress. An illustration would be low staffing levels that result in heavier workloads and lower-quality treatment from overworked and anxious nurses. To address this, the organization may put policies in place to efficiently manage nurses’ workloads, guarantee sufficient staffing levels, and offer mental health services to support the wellbeing of nurses (Woo & Kim, 2020).
In conclusion, the complex nature of nursing practice demands a thorough strategy to reduce the possibility of mistakes and improve patient outcomes. The research reviewed here sheds light on essential areas, such as NICU discharge planning, sexual health education, and nurse wellbeing, where mistakes can happen. Healthcare organizations can use focused interventions to address these issues, such as continuing education initiatives, uniform discharge planning procedures, and mental health support for nursing personnel. In addition to reducing mistakes, these preventative actions promote a continuous improvement culture that strengthens nursing practice’s resilience and flexibility. Healthcare organizations may strengthen their commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care and protecting the wellbeing of patients and nursing workers by prioritizing these activities.
References
Benton, C. P. (2020). Sexual health attitudes and beliefs among nursing faculty: A correlational study. Nurse Education Today, 98, 104665.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104665
Links to an external site.
Rio, L., Tenthorey, C., & Ramelet, A.-S. (2020). Unplanned postdischarge healthcare utilization, discharge readiness, and perceived quality of teaching in mothers of neonates hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit: A descriptive and correlational study. Australian Critical Care.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aucc.2020.07.001
Links to an external site.
Woo, M.-J., & Kim, D.-H. (2020). Factors associated with secondary traumatic stress among nurses in regional trauma centers in South Korea: A descriptive correlational study. Journal of Emergency Nursing.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2020.08.006
Links to an external site.
