Case Study: Patient Safety Goals

NOW F OR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT:Case Study: Patient Safety Goals

National patient safety goals and other relevant regulatory standards (e.g., CMS core measures, pay for performance indicators, and never events) • Nurse-sensitive indicators • Data management (e.g., collection tools, display techniques, data analysis, trend analysis, control charts) •Analysis of errors (e.g., Root Cause Analysis [RCA], Failure Mode Effects Analysis [FMEA], serious safety events) • Communication (e.g., hands-off communication, chain-of-command, error disclosure) • Participate in executive patient safety rounds • Simulation training in a variety of settings (e.g., disasters, codes, and other high-risk clinical areas) • RN fit for duty/impact of fatigue and distractions in care environment on patient safety Essential IV: Translating and Integrating Scholarship into Practice

Rationale

Professional nursing practice at all levels is grounded in the ethical translation of current evidence into practice. Fundamentally, nurses need a questioning/inquiring attitude toward their practice and the care environment.

The master’s-prepared nurse examines policies and seeks evidence for every aspect of practice, thereby translating current evidence and identifying gaps where evidence is lacking. These nurses apply research outcomes within the practice setting, resolve practice problems (individually or as a member of the healthcare team), and disseminate results both within the setting and in wider venues in order to advance clinical practice. Changing practice locally, as well as more broadly, demands that the master’s-prepared nurse is skilled at challenging current practices, procedures, and policies. The emerging sciences referred to as implementation or improvement sciences are providing evidence about the processes that are effective when making needed changes where the change processes and context are themselves evidence based (Damschroder et al., 2009; Sobo, Bowman, & Gifford, 2008; van Achterberg, Schoonhoven, & Grol, 2008). Master’s-

prepared nurses, therefore, must be able to implement change deemed appropriate given context and outcome analysis, and to assist others in efforts to improve outcomes.

Master’s-prepared nurses lead continuous improvement processes based on translational research skills. The cyclical processes in which these nurses are engaged includes identifying questions needing answers, searching or creating the evidence for potential solutions/innovations, evaluating the outcomes, and identifying additional questions.

Master’s-prepared nurses, when appropriate, lead the healthcare team in the implementation of evidence-based practice. These nurses support staff in lifelong learning to improve care decisions, serving as a role model and mentor for evidence- based decision making.