Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
In the nursing profession, patient safety is the top priority. It is vital that nurses adhere to current safety policies as well as adapt to new changes in quality improvement. This review will analyze seven current patient safety goals, six aims of improvement, and how nurses will implement these into the patient’s care. These policies protect the nurse in the practice and ensure safety for the patient.
Current Safety Goals
The seven patient safety goals can be broken down into three categories: identify, use, and prevent. Identifying means that the nurse is making sure he/she is attending to the correct patient and recognizing any potential harm for the patient. The Joint Commission (TJC) emphasizes that verifying armbands, allergies, fall risks, blood types, and potential for self-harm can prevent error and injury (2016). Use involves interacting with equipment, technology, and following hospital procedures to carry out tasks. This includes the nurse remaining attentive to hospital alarms, using and …show more content…
One of the biggest areas for improvement deals with medication errors. For this reason, both the seven safety goals and six aims of improvement mention the importance of medication safety. Safe medication administration can be carried out by making sure the patient has an updated medication list, following the six rights, and providing patient education. Other key components of implementation are timeliness and staff communication. Technology has allowed us to be more efficient with communication, but the care team must be cognizant of patient confidentiality. Also, the goals and aims discuss the necessity of identifying patients correctly and providing patient-centered care. It is imperative the patient is checked properly before administering care and the patient receives the best care per their
In the nursing profession, patient safety is the top priority. It is vital that nurses adhere to current safety policies as well as adapt to new changes in quality improvement. This review will analyze seven current patient safety goals, six aims of improvement, and how nurses will implement these into the patient’s care. These policies protect the nurse in the practice and ensure safety for the patient.
Current Safety Goals
The seven patient safety goals can be broken down into three categories: identify, use, and prevent. Identifying means that the nurse is making sure he/she is attending to the correct patient and recognizing any potential harm for the patient. The Joint Commission (TJC) emphasizes that verifying armbands, allergies, fall risks, blood types, and potential for self-harm can prevent error and injury (2016). Use involves interacting with equipment, technology, and following hospital procedures to carry out tasks. This includes the nurse remaining attentive to hospital alarms, using and …show more content…
One of the biggest areas for improvement deals with medication errors. For this reason, both the seven safety goals and six aims of improvement mention the importance of medication safety. Safe medication administration can be carried out by making sure the patient has an updated medication list, following the six rights, and providing patient education. Other key components of implementation are timeliness and staff communication. Technology has allowed us to be more efficient with communication, but the care team must be cognizant of patient confidentiality. Also, the goals and aims discuss the necessity of identifying patients correctly and providing patient-centered care. It is imperative the patient is checked properly before administering care and the patient receives the best care per their