Importance of Patient Safety in Healthcare | Desklib

Providing high quality and safe healthcare has been a policy objective of nations globally for more than a decade. Despite some efforts to improve patient health, most patients continue to suffer avoidable harm and standard care. As a registered nurse, it is my duty to ensure that the patients are safe at all times. Quality of care is essential since it helps the nurses to make sure that the patients are protected from any harm. I want to enhance patient safety since individuals will have an opportunity to practice a healthy lifestyle. It is important to recognize that knowledge in regards to health and training is necessary for patient safety.

PATIENT SAFETY
Patient Safety
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation
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PATIENT SAFETY
Introduction
Providing high quality and safe healthcare has been a policy objective of nations globally
for more than a decade. Despite some efforts to improve patient health, most patients continue to
suffer avoidable harm and standard care. As a registered nurse, it is my duty to ensure that the
patients are safe at all times. Quality of care is essential since it helps the nurses to make sure
that the patients are protected from any harm. I want to enhance patient safety since individuals
will have an opportunity to practice a healthy lifestyle. It is important to recognize that
knowledge in regards to health and training is necessary for patient safety.
Reasons for choosing patient safety
It is crucial to establish a sense of urgency since the patients need high-quality care to
enhance the quality of life. It is important to encourage other health practitioners to get out of
their comfort zones and work together to ensure the safety of the patient ( Wodchis, Dixon,
Anderson and Goodwin 2015, pp. 1-15 ). In addition, many managers and leaders make critical
mistakes like declaring victory hence low momentum in making an effort to transform patient
safety. Individuals need to identify and understand the stages of change and understand the
pitfalls at every stage of transformation since it boosts the chances of effective conversion
(Kotter, 2007). Creating a vision and communicating the vision helps in developing strategies for
realizing the vision teaching new behaviors that can assist in achieving my objective of
improving patient safety ( West, Lyubovnikova, Eckert and Denis, 2014, pp. 240-260).
Empowering others to act on the vision encourages risk-taking ideas, activities, and actions.
I chose patient safety because all individuals are entitled to quality healthcare services.
Many patient safety practices like use of stimulators and crew resource management have been
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seen as possible strategies to avoid patient safety errors and enhance the health care process.
There are types of errors can occur across the spectrum of health experts and the environment.
The causes can be identified in the following terms: a potential failure which means that
practitioners are not involved in decision making that affect the policy of the organization and
allocation of resources (Weberg 2012, pp. 268-277). There is also active failure which involves
contact with the patient directly. In addition, there is an organizational system failure that affects
indirect failures involving the management, corporate culture, procedures, knowledge transfer,
and external procedures. Supporting the culture of safety so that the frequent error issue and
harm can be corrected (Swartling and Poksinska 2013, pp. 81-94). The culture of safety’s core
values and actions show that there is a commitment to emphasize the safety of the patient over
competing objectives. Besides, good communication with the patients and their families by
observing if there is something unsafe that will endanger the patient is also essential in
enhancing the safety of the patient.
I will make sure that I meet the nurse leader to ensure that the problems are sorted early
enough to ensure that proper assistance is offered (Serrano 2010, pp. 1-4). Furthermore,
performing basic care and following checklists since simple things like providing oral care and
turning the patients is always vital and should not be skipped. Moreover, engaging the patients
by asking about their goals and also listening to their questions about the care that they are given
is essential since it will help them to open up and explain their issues. This enables the patients
to open up to the nurses and share their experiences all the time. It will also progress the
relationship between the patient and the nurses in the healthcare facility. The hospital
management must ensure that there is democratic power to ensure that the practitioners work
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together to enhance patient safety. This will encourage personal excellence as the nurses will
focus on the safety of the patients rather than their interests.
Alternatives, desired state and evidence
Nursing has been concerned with patient safety quality improvement in healthcare safety.
In the past, nurses have been viewed as being responsible for the safety of the patient in narrow
aspects like avoiding medical errors and preventing patient falls (Luxford, Safran, and Delbanco,
2011, pp. 510-515 ). The dimensions of this safety remain vital within the nursing purview, the
breadth, and depth of patient safety. The critical contribution of nursing to patient safety in any
context is the ability to coordinate and integrate the various aspects of quality within the care
directly provided by nursing, and across the attention given by others in the setting ( Thom et
al. 2016, pp.819-822 ). Nurses have a positive culture which is being empathetic, supportive,
transparency and mutual respect with non-hierarchical climate. Relationships between patients
and nurses are valued which shows that there is a culture of improvement.
Nurses are required to work together to achieve team goals, and also they must also
participate in decision making. They are caring individuals who put patients at the heart of
everything that they do ( Baker, Salas, Battles and King 2016, pp. 212-225 ). They also have the
opportunity to nurture the wellbeing of the whole person, respecting the patient’s physical,
emotional and spiritual needs. Nurses also make sure that the patients are safe by ensuring time
for training and development. It is essential for the nurses to use data and evidence to improve
continuously ( Dipboye, 2016). A positive attitude is also important since it enables the nurses to
ensure that all the staff takes responsibility for the hospital as services and reputation. They are
encouraged to have the confidence to challenge and responding positively when they are
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PATIENT SAFETY
questioned (Jex, 2014). This is important for them since that patient will feel safe and they will
also respect the decisions that the nurses make in regards to their health issues.
Factors to consider in addressing the issue
The leadership style is essential in ensuring patient safety. The hospital's management
must always ensure that all health practitioners give their thoughts on the vision and mission in
regards to patient safety (Braithwaite, Wears and Hollnagel 2015, pp.418-420). Professional
domain reflects on attributes like values, meaning, autonomy and purpose. In addition,
professional loyalty is placed before the organizational improvement, proposing professional
autonomy draws on loyalty to the patients (Taylor, Parekh, Estrada, Schleyer, and Sharpe 2014,
pp.214-218). There is a need to engage clinicians and in organizational change hence avoiding
the dominant clinician versus management paradigm. This will enable them to work with each
other in ensuring that the patient is safe.
Healthcare needs to rediscover their purpose and be loyal to their patients. The purpose
of health care is to provide quality services to the community (McFadden, Stock and Gowen
2015, pp.24-34). Also, the working conditions of the health practitioners must be created in a
way that is favorable so that they can provide quality care to the patient. Well-structured teams
must be considered as well since teamwork is helpful in maintaining the safety of the patient
(Singh and Sittig 2016, pp.226-232.). They work hand in hand in providing solutions to the
current problems threatening the patients’ safety. Furthermore, openness and honesty is the key
element in ensuring patient safety (Vaismoradi, Jordan and Kangasniemi 2015, pp.627-63 ).
Health practitioners must be open minded and create an honest relationship with the patient so
that they can get the care that they need.
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In conclusion, quality of care is essential since it helps the nurses to make sure that the
patients are protected. Proper leadership and management ensure that solutions are given to the
problems regarding patient safety.
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References
Baker, D.P., Salas, E., Battles, J.B. and King, H.B., 2016. The relation between teamwork and
patient safety. In Handbook of human factors and ergonomics in health care and patient
safety (pp. 212-225). CRC Press.
Braithwaite, J., Wears, R.L. and Hollnagel, E., 2015. Resilient health care: turning patient safety
on its head. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(5), pp.418-420.
Dipboye, R., 2016. Exploring industrial & organizational psychology: Work & organizational
behavior.
Jex, S.M., 2014. Organizational psychology. Wiley.
Kotter, J.P., 2007. FROM THE HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW OnPoint - leading change.
Available at: https://camgraham.com/HBR Leading Change - Why Transformation Efforts
Fail.pdf [Accessed November 27, 2018].
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qualitative study of facilitators and barriers in healthcare organizations with a reputation for
improving the patient experience”, International Journal of Quality in Health Care, Vol. 23 No.
5, pp. 510-515.
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Serrano, L. (2010), “A culture of excellence, ISO 15189: 2007 medical laboratory accreditation”,
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Singh, H. and Sittig, D.F., 2016. Measuring and improving patient safety through health
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from a motivational perspective”, Journal of Applied Economic and Business Research, Vol. 3
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Taylor, B.B., Parekh, V., Estrada, C.A., Schleyer, A. and Sharpe, B., 2014. Documenting quality
improvement and patient safety efforts: The quality portfolio. A statement from the academic
hospitalist taskforce. Journal of general internal medicine, 29(1), pp.214-218.
Thom, K.A., Heil, E.L., Croft, L.D., Duffy, A., Morgan, D.J. and Johantgen, M., 2016.
Advancing interprofessional patient safety education for medical, nursing, and pharmacy learners
during clinical rotations. Journal of interprofessional care, 30(6), pp.819-822.
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and nursing input–a systematic review. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(5-6), pp.627-639
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No. 4, pp. 268-277
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cultures of high quality health care”, Journal of Organisational Effectiveness People and
Performance, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 240-260.
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Wodchis, W.P., Dixon, A., Anderson, G.M. and Goodwin, N. (2015), “Integrating care for older
people with complex needs: key insights and lessons from a seven-country cross-case analysis”,
International Journal of Integrated Care, Vol. 15 No. 6, pp. 1-15
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