Patient Safety
Regina Georgeson 9/15/15
Patient safety is what everything in healthcare revolves around. It should be practiced in every step that a nurse takes at work to care for a patient to reach their individual outcomes without medical error. Patient safety is commonly defined as, “freedom from psychological and physical injury. “ There are multiple ways that patient safety can be breached as evidenced by the thousands of deaths seen each year because of malpractice. Due to the extreme importance of patient safety, there are certain programs and research facilities dedicated solely to teaching about the importance of patient safety and finding the best ways to safeguard our patients. Risks can be greatly minimized by correctly …show more content…
There has been a vast amount of research on this subject and it has been proven that an adequate physical environment at a healthcare facility goes hand in hand with good patient safety. AHRQ released a video explaining this importance and showing examples of a few hospitals where they instituted the following: “Single patient rooms and better ventilation systems for pathogen control; standardized room layouts; better lines of sight and reduced steps to the point of care; adjustable lighting; noise reduction materials; convenient placement of hand-hygiene dispensers; and safer systems for lifting and transporting patients.” All of these aspects are highly successful methods that enhance the safety of the patient. (AHRQ.gov) It is also important to make sure that certain physical hazards are avoided as well and that nurses have adequate knowledge of how to react in such a situation like a natural disaster or …show more content…
Nurses must identify patients that are a potential fall risk and assess to see if they are at a greater than normal risk. Deaths by falls in hospitals are on the rise and it’s an easy tragedy to avoid if only proper protocol was being followed. Nurses need to use side rails properly, avoid clutter, use night lights, label patients as fall risks, make sure call light is handy, set bathroom schedules, etc. All of these precautionary measures may be taken to ensure patient safety.
It is also very important to engage your patient in their health care. It is important that they know to ask questions, write down notes, ask about lab results, and medication instructions. The patient most definitely plays a role in his or her own safety. The nurse should always be educating their patient and encourage them to go to follow-up visits to avoid future rehospitalizations.
Regina Georgeson 9/15/15
Patient safety is what everything in healthcare revolves around. It should be practiced in every step that a nurse takes at work to care for a patient to reach their individual outcomes without medical error. Patient safety is commonly defined as, “freedom from psychological and physical injury. “ There are multiple ways that patient safety can be breached as evidenced by the thousands of deaths seen each year because of malpractice. Due to the extreme importance of patient safety, there are certain programs and research facilities dedicated solely to teaching about the importance of patient safety and finding the best ways to safeguard our patients. Risks can be greatly minimized by correctly …show more content…
There has been a vast amount of research on this subject and it has been proven that an adequate physical environment at a healthcare facility goes hand in hand with good patient safety. AHRQ released a video explaining this importance and showing examples of a few hospitals where they instituted the following: “Single patient rooms and better ventilation systems for pathogen control; standardized room layouts; better lines of sight and reduced steps to the point of care; adjustable lighting; noise reduction materials; convenient placement of hand-hygiene dispensers; and safer systems for lifting and transporting patients.” All of these aspects are highly successful methods that enhance the safety of the patient. (AHRQ.gov) It is also important to make sure that certain physical hazards are avoided as well and that nurses have adequate knowledge of how to react in such a situation like a natural disaster or …show more content…
Nurses must identify patients that are a potential fall risk and assess to see if they are at a greater than normal risk. Deaths by falls in hospitals are on the rise and it’s an easy tragedy to avoid if only proper protocol was being followed. Nurses need to use side rails properly, avoid clutter, use night lights, label patients as fall risks, make sure call light is handy, set bathroom schedules, etc. All of these precautionary measures may be taken to ensure patient safety.
It is also very important to engage your patient in their health care. It is important that they know to ask questions, write down notes, ask about lab results, and medication instructions. The patient most definitely plays a role in his or her own safety. The nurse should always be educating their patient and encourage them to go to follow-up visits to avoid future rehospitalizations.