An Assessment of The Culture of Safety in The Clinical Agency Essay

This assignment is designed for the student to examine safety factors of a selected patient and to reflect on own nursing practice. The student will evaluate individual and healthcare environment risks to a patient. Meets course learning outcomes 1,2,3,5.

Process:  

Write each section of the paper according to the following guidelines:

1.  Total length of paper 7-9 pages including title and reference page.

2.  Utilize current resources (within five years) such as literature, websites, and textbooks.

3.  A minimum of four (4) reference sources must be incorporated from at least two (2) nursing journals, one (1) QSEN Guideline and one (1) National Patient Safety Goal.  Make sure to properly cite facility policy and procedures.    

4.  Utilize APA guidelines for all documentation and formatting style, including headings and in text citation.

5.  Paper must be typed, double-spaced, and include a title page and reference page.  

6.  The final paper will be graded according to the rubric. A maximum of 100 points may be earned for the Safety Assessment Paper.

7.  Turn in the Grading Rubric with the paper.  The student will be notified of the grade for this

   assignment on the returned grading rubric. 

Refer to the following: 

QSEN Guidelines, which can be found at http://qsen.org/competencies/pre-licensure-ksas/#s….  

Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals at https://www.jointcommission.org. 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at http://www.cdc.gov (Home and Recreational Safety)

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) at http://assets.aarp.org (Home Safety Check List)

Other sources: The National Patient Safety Foundation, National Safety Council, etc. 

The paper will consist of the following sections: 

A. Assessment of the culture of safety in the clinical agency.

1. Identify examples of nursing care related to safety.

2. Review agency policies and procedures.

3. Identify presence of safety cues in the environment.

4. Identify reporting mechanism for errors and their use in the clinical agency

B. Assessment of the patient’s immediate environment for safety.

1. Identify sources of potential harm to the patient: clutter, lighting, obstacles on the floor, timeliness of call light response, bed/chair alarms

2. Availability of safety equipment.

C. Assessment of home environment related to safety hazards (for Rehabilitation patients ONLY).

1. Interview patient and or family regarding home environment.

2. Identify sources of safety risk in the home.

3. Educate patient about safety at home.

      Assessment of home environment related to safety hazards (for Long Term Care patients ONLY)

        1.    Identify through research examples of safety risks in the home of elderly patients

                      2.   Develop an educational plan about safety at home for this population. 

D. Assessment of the patient’s physical, mental, and emotional status in terms of safety.

1. Complete clinical agency risk assessment tools (fall risk and skin assessment tool) and  patient’shealth needs (glasses, hearing aids, and other physical conditions that may compromise safety)

E.   Identify strategies used by the institution to meet national patient safety goals.

F.   Identify and discuss on your role in error prevention for this patient.