Enhancing Quality and Safety

For this assessment, you will develop a 35 page paper that examines a safety quality issue in a healthcare setting. You will analyze the issue and examine potential evidence-based and best-practice solutions from the literature as well as the role of nurses and other stakeholders in addressing the issue.

The role of the baccalaureate nurse includes identifying and explaining specific patient risk factors, incorporating evidence-based solutions to improving patient safety and coordinating care. A solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of safety organizations such as Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and The Joint Commission and its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program is vital to practicing nurses with regard to providing and promoting safe and effective patient care.

You are encouraged to complete the Identifying Safety Risks and Solutions activity. This activity offers an opportunity to review a case study and practice identifying safety risks and possible solutions. We have found that learners who complete course activities and review resources are more successful with first submissions. Completing course activities is also a way to demonstrate course engagement.

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for implementing quality improvement (QI) and patient safety measures in healthcare settings. Effective quality improvement measures result in systemic and organizational change, ultimately leading to the development of a patient safety culture.

Consider the hospital-acquired conditions that are not reimbursed under Medicare/Medicaid, some of which are specific safety issues such as infections, falls, medication errors, and other concerns that could have been prevented or alleviated with the use of evidence-based guidelines.

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures to address patient safety risk at a healthcare setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in healthcare settings from organizations such as QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses) and the IOM (Institute of Medicine). Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote safety in your chosen healthcare setting.

The paper will be on:

Workplace Violence: Workplace violence, including physical and verbal abuse, is a

significant issue in healthcare settings, affecting the safety and well-being of nurses and

can trickle down to patient care. Nurses need training on how to de-escalate potentially

violent situations and protect themselves.

o Patient Safety and Well-being: An alarming consequence of workplace violence

is the potential harm to the patient. Distraction and stress can lead to medication

administration errors, missed alarms, increased fatigue leading to other types of

medical or nursing errors.

o Loss of Trust: When healthcare professionals experience or witness workplace

violence, their trust in the healthcare system can be severely eroded. This loss of

trust can make nurses seek other employment, lead to more absences and more

stress in the workplace, impacting patient care.

o Reporting Mechanisms: For healthcare professionals, establishing clear

reporting mechanisms encourages nurses to report incidents of violence.

Accurate reporting helps identify patterns and implement preventive measures.

o Operational Disruptions: Workplace violence can disrupt the normal flow of

operations in a healthcare setting. This may impact the flow of patient care,

leading to additional tests, procedures, or interventions to correct any errors

leading to delays and inefficiencies.

o Regulatory and Accreditation Implications: Healthcare facilities are subject to

regulations and standards set by accrediting bodies. Workplace violence can lead

to errors, which can lead to penalties, increased scrutiny, and potential challenges

in maintaining accreditation.

For this assessment, be sure to focus on an organizational setting. This could be a primary care office, urgent care, mobile clinic, hospital ED, rural clinic, etc. Then use the literature to support the problem and solution in the organization. Reflect on costs to that organization/setting and what nurses can do to coordinate the care within the setting. Reflect on stakeholders who may be involved.

Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the rubric. Please study the rubric carefully so you understand what is needed for a distinguished score.

• Explain factors leading to a specific patient safety risk.
• Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety related to a specific patient-safety risk and reduce costs.
• Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety and reduce costs.
• Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive safety enhancements.
• Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.

Length of submission: 35 pages of content plus title and reference pages.

Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.