Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies NURS-FPX4020 Assessment 2 Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan

Improvement Plan with Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Strategies

The improvement plan for sustained patient within the facility will focus on three pertinent facets, namely improved communication between nurses and other stakeholders, enhanced collaboration, and elimination of detractors from the work environment, such as cell phones. The first step of this improvement plan entails improving communication between stakeholders to enhance awareness during the provision of care. Collaborative working ensures that nurses and physicians can verify patient information prior to making any changes pertaining to patient care. Further, the plan suggests team empowerment, especially with respect to policy execution, for better patient management (Zamboni, et al., 2020).

Environmental adjustment by creating a telephone station to leave one’s contacts during the administration of medication is equally essential. Nurses should be advised not to use individual cell phones during shifts to minimize cases of distractions. With effective implementation, this plan can help improve the quality of services offered, in addition to minimizing the chances of human errors within the facility. The plan is time-bound, and analysis of progress should commence in two months to review its success or the need for adjustments.

Existing organization resources

It is paramount to identify and apply the available resources appropriately. The facility has enough resources that when employed efficiently, can result in a safe nursing home environment. Foremost, the facility has enough, well-trained nurses to handle the residents of the home. By efficiently applying their skills, knowledge and workplace exposure, the nurses are in a better position to provide safe care (Franks, 2020).

Secondly, the facility has schedules for physician visits every week to ensure that patients receive the intended medical care. Finally, the facility’s human resource management team must ensure that nurses handle patients with minimum interruptions by creating well-defined schedules. Additionally, the management should make it a routine for the head nurse to check and approve all transfers and medication changes for patients within two hours of such change.

Conclusion

Arguably, medication errors are the leading cause of injury, death and increased healthcare costs within nursing homes. The root cause analysis of the causative factors explored in this paper reveal the causes and potential solutions to the issue of medication errors in nursing homes. As observed in the case discussed, nurse distraction occasioned by cell phone use during work hours resulted in the death of a patient, an occurrence that should not happen. This paper has reviewed in-depth evidence-based strategies needed to effectively address the problem, particularly by focusing on human and environment factors that tend to jeopardize service delivery.

NURS-FPX4020 Assessment 2 Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan References