Nursing Placement: Reflection on NSQHS Standards and Clinical Practice

This report provides a reflection on the National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service Standards (NSQHS) in Australia, utilizing the Gibbs Reflective Cycle. The student, drawing from a nursing placement experience, focuses on clinical governance and communication for patient safety, highlighting their importance in protecting the public and improving patient outcomes. The report details the student's experiences, feelings, and evaluations related to initiatives like patient feedback and effective communication within healthcare settings. An analysis of risk management and the objectives of NSQHS, including maintaining and improving healthcare quality, is also included. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of adhering to NSQHS to ensure patient safety and a positive outcome. The report concludes with an action plan for the student's future practice, including commitment to NSQHS, attending seminars, and seeking information from experienced nurses.

RUNNING HEAD: NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICE STANDARDS 1
National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service Standards
Name:
Institution:
Tutor:
Date:

NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICE STANDARDS 2
National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service Standards
INTRODUCTION
The National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service standards are guidelines that were set
up in Australia to provide a framework through which healthcare institutions should operate
along. I will utilize the Gibbs Reflection model to demonstrate my understanding of the NSQHS
(Williams, Woolliams, & Spiro, 2012). They are eight in total and they include clinical
Governance, Blood safety and management and medication safety. In this interview however, I
will demonstrate an understanding of only two of the NSQHS which are clinical governance and
communication for patient safety ("Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting it Right,"
2017). All of them have one thing in common, they protect the public from harm and ensure
better patient outcome.
DESCRIPTION
During my nursing placement, I came across several incidences that National Safety and
Quality Healthcare Service standards were at interplay .It was mandatory for all the departments
or the units to identify and document potential risks. The different heads of departments were
also educated on how plan and manage different disasters. There was an initiative that could
allow the patients to give a feedback on the type of services they were subjected to.
Another initiative that I came across was effective communication. The patients, the
cares, the families and all the multidisciplinary teams were encouraged to share information on
how well the patient could be handled .The moment the patient could enter the healthcare
institution, he or she would be encouraged to be free enough and share or speak freely to any

NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICE STANDARDS 3
healthcare provider. The healthcare providers were also encouraged to communicate with other
during their practice.
FEELINGS
The act of getting feedback from the patients was quite fascinating to me as a nurse. This
is because I would able to know what I do best and what I am weak so that I can improve.
Communication is the best tool for safety and the initiative to encourage communication was
actually a good move and I was very happy about the move.
EVALUATION
All parts of the experience were positive to me as they were in line with the National
Safety and Quality Healthcare Service standards. All the things happened according to my
expectations .I did not experience any difficulties and I effectively captured the concept of
clinical governance and communication for patient safety.
ANALYSIS
Risk management is an element of the National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service
Standards. This element has the objective of protecting the healthcare organization against
potential risks .Some of the risks include losses and low quality services (Healy, 2016). Clinical
governance is a National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service Standard with the objective of
ensuring that all healthcare organizations maintain and improve on the reliability, the safety as
well as the quality of healthcare. The act of providing feedback by the patients was therefore a
good initiative as it provides a forum where healthcare professionals can evaluate their practice
(Duffy, 2013). If the patient provides a negative feedback, then nurses are supposed to improve

NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICE STANDARDS 4
on that particular area while if the patient provides a positive feedback, the nurses now should
work in that line or make it better.
National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service standards are important components in
the healthcare sector and all healthcare organizations should ensure that they implement them so
that the public is protected from harm and there is better patient outcome.
Encouraging communication within the healthcare organization is a National Safety and
Quality Healthcare Service standard that has the objective of ensuring that all the parties share
information to provide continuous and coordinated as well as safe care to the patients(Vincent &
Amalberti, 2015). The healthcare is an interplay of different parties that include nurses, doctors,
patients and family. This people should work together for better patient outcome.
CONCLUSION
National Safety and Quality Healthcare Service standards are very important at all
healthcare institutions. All the professionals should always adhere to those standards so as to
protect the public from harm and improve on the general outcome. Clinical governance is the
first NSQHS and its objective is to enable healthcare organizations maintain and improve on the
reliability, the safety and the quality of healthcare. The initiative to get feedback from the
patients is a good move in line with clinical governance as the feedback provides the avenue to
gauge where healthcare professionals should improve on.
ACTION PLAN
As a nurse, I will always ensure that all the National Safety and Quality Healthcare
service standards are adhered to all levels of operation. My priority at any healthcare
organization I will be working will be to ensure that all the NSQHS are in full swing and

NATIONAL SAFETY AND QUALITY HEALTHCARE SERVICE STANDARDS 5
whoever goes against them is punished severely. I will be attending different seminars and read
current journals so that I can be updated on the progress of the National Safety and Quality
Healthcare Service Standards(Clark, Collier, & Currow, 2015) .I will also speak to different
experienced nurses from other departments so that they can continuously provide new
information in case there is any.

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References
Clark, K., Collier, A., & Currow, D. C. (2015). Dying in Australian hospitals: will a separate
national clinical standard improve the delivery of quality care? Australian Health
Review, 39(2), 202. doi:10.1071/ah14175
Duffy, J. R. (2013). Quality Caring in Nursing and Health Systems.
doi:10.1891/9780826110152
Healy, J. (2016). Improving Health Care Safety and Quality. doi:10.4324/9781315588049
Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting it Right. (2017).
doi:10.1201/9781315607443
Vincent, C., & Amalberti, R. (2015). Safety in healthcare is a moving target. BMJ Quality &
Safety, 24(9), 539-540. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004403
Williams, K., Woolliams, M., & Spiro, J. (2012). Using a framework for reflection: Gibbs’
reflective cycle. Reflective Writing, 90-102. doi:10.1007/978-0-230-37724-0_16