Patient Safety Culture
Analysis
Karen Viani’s case primarily demonstrates the lack of cooperation between nurses as the patient did not receive the Laxis IV as appointed, which made her potassium level low. It was identified by the hospitalist who arrived on site because the in-charge nurse was extremely busy. This is the first area for improvement – specialists should communicate more efficiently to avoid similar cases when the patients do not get the necessary treatment timely. What is more, the hospital needs to take care of employing more specialists so as not to provide care to all patients when needed.
In addition, the patient, trying to reach the call bell, fell on the floor and got slight injuries. Patient safety in wards needs to be maintained as well to provide comfortable and secure conditions for people. In addition, a medication error is the other concern that should be addressed. Patients may severely suffer from wrong medications; sometimes, such a mistake could become fatal for one.
Outcome
If the patient safety culture had been well-developed in the chosen case, the results could have been entirely satisfactory. For instance, the nurse would not be busy if the hospital was staffed enough to ensure each patient was assisted in a timely manner. Moreover, when a ward is equipped according to the standards, the risk of getting any injuries diminishes. In the given case, the patient was not able to reach the call bell, which made her fall. All necessary facilities should be within reach so individuals can contact the doctors anytime. Finally, the medication error could have been prevented as well and the patient would not get lucid. Instead, proper drug allocation would lead to a discharge from the hospital.
Recommendation
One method to improve patient safety culture is using monitoring technologies. These may include tracking the blood indicators of a patient or a treatment alarm. It signifies that a nurse could trace the condition of a person using an electronic device that could notify of changes in one’s state (Hermann et al., 2019). For instance, in the chosen case, a nurse could have been more careful with the treatment and avoided the medication error if she had used a gadget with a cue. In addition, such technologies allow professionals to prevent incidents such as bed falls and others. This advancement could help the nurse evade any other life-threatening situations with Karen Viani and other patients.
Communication
Strategy
The main strategy chosen is to use all-purpose solutions that will enable you to broadcast material to as many employees as you can, even those who work remotely. Utilizing different communication channels is vital within any organization so as to reach every single employee. For instance, the nurses in the selected situation could use pagers to communicate the patient’s information and ask each other for help when they are busy. However, sometimes there are sensitive issues that need to be treated with extreme caution. In such situations, one-on-one communication is often the best way to avoid misunderstandings and save time (Hermann et al., 2019). This strategy is beneficial in terms of maintaining the confidentiality and enables a nurse to learn from their own experience without engaging others. A nurse may receive a feedback and stick to the suggested action plan to fix the problem.
Providing consistent feedback is also indispensable as it guarantees more effective problem-solving. Such feedback should be professional, meaning it should point out the strength and weaknesses of one’s work without involving personal judgments (Hermann et al., 2019). In other words, it is the ability to be focused on the current situation. During controversial moments, when a person expresses his opinion to the interlocutor, he may inadvertently mention past problems and conflicts. Therefore, it is essential to stay focused on the present: first of all, you need to evaluate the situation itself and not the feelings and emotions that it causes.
Safer Patient Care
The chosen strategies can ensure safer patient care in several ways. Primarily, the use of different communication channels will provide active cooperation between different specialists who could assist each other in case of emergency. It has been proven that professionals who are responsive to each others’ needs are better at guaranteeing positive patient health outcomes (Hermann et al., 2019). What is more, when one-to-one communication is implemented, there are no judgments in the team. Treating everyone professionally may ensure more efficient problem-solving as it helps eliminate inconsistencies at the workplace and not personal traits. Thus, it is vital to use these strategies to promote a culture of safety and better health results that would boost the hospitals’ performance.
Measurement
It is possible to measure the effectiveness of communication by evaluating the number of medication errors within a specified period, for instance, a month. In addition, the quantity of patient complaint may be the decisive factor pointing to the strengths or weaknesses of the chosen strategies. Finally, better health outcomes statistics and early discharges could signify the productive implementation of communication improvement measures. In general, it is necessary to trace the productivity of nurses since they are in charge of the major processes in wards.
Reference
Hermann, R. M., Long, E., & Trotta, R. L. (2019). Improving patients’ experiences communicating with nurses and providers in the emergency department. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 45(5), 523–530. Web.