How humbling it is to shadow the steps of our frontline caregivers. Previously in this column, I've mentioned the incredible value in slipping into a pair of scrubs and spending time shoulder-to-shoulder with clinicians and care teams. As I continue to conduct nursing research for...
Patient falls are one of the most common adverse events in a hospital setting, making them an easy target for indifference after a while. But when staff at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, a 325-bed hospital in Laguna Hills, CA, noticed a spike in its patient fall rate during...
Beep. Beep. Beep. The telltale noise of a hospital is the bleeps, the sweeps, and the creeps of the many machines hospital patients are hooked up to during their stay. These machines have alarms—as many as 400 per patient—and many are important. They alert staff if a patient needs immediate...
Many patients’ first experience with a hospital happens in the ED. Hospitals know this and are constantly striving to improve the patient experience in the ED—not an easy task. There are lots of patients, and most, if not all, are worried and anxious.
As patient safety, infection control, and quality improvement professionals continue toward their “path to zero”—as in zero hospital-acquired infections, zero medication errors, and zero wrong-site surgeries—at some point or another, they usually stumble upon resistance. The...
When you read the words “patient safety” or “quality,” what images immediately come to mind? It might be nurses washing their hands, fall risk signs, doctors with checklists, bar codes, surgical timeout posters, sterile gloves, or maybe a patient’s color-coded alert wristband.
The Joint Commission recently announced approved revisions of the National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) on medication reconciliation. The goal, now NPSG.03.06.01 (formerly NPSG.08.01.01), is shorter and has fewer requirements. It takes effect July 1, 2011.
Quality improvement (QI) and patient safety projects are tough to implement. Most employees resist change and must be constantly encouraged to give new methods a chance. Nurses often begrudge any new documentation or process, fearing it will cut into...
