Organizational Culture Affecting Quality and Safety Outcomes NURS FPX 6212 Assessment 1 Quality and Safety Gap Analysis

While organizational culture refers to shared values, beliefs, and behaviors, hierarchy is an organization’s power and decision-making structure. These aspects are significantly influenced by leadership and management abilities. Eventually, all these aspects impact the quality and safety within an organization. Positive organizational aspects, emphasizing open communication and prioritizing patient well-being, result in reduced fall errors, improved staff morale and engagement, and increased reporting of near misses and safety concerns (Lu et al., 2022).

Conversely, a culture prioritizes profits over safety, discourages reporting errors, has rigid hierarchies with limited shared decision-making environment, and authoritarian leaders encounter increased safety concerns, decreased staff engagement, and under-reporting of unsafe events, leading to delayed identification and resolution of safety issues. This analysis assumes that prioritizing safety through organizational culture and hierarchy improves quality outcomes. It also assumes that staff feel encouraged in a culture that promotes open communication and shared decision-making, creating a sense of ownership and continuous quality and safety improvements. 

Justification of Necessary Changes in an Organization

Implementing necessary changes to mitigate adverse quality and safety outcomes related to falls requires a multifaceted approach. Our organization requires changes in leadership practices that promote patient well-being and show a strong commitment to providing resources for fall prevention practice changes. These changes will give direction to the team and ensure the necessary support for implementing and sustaining effective initiatives (Els & Meyer, 2024). Moreover, the organization requires effective communication channels to timely and accurately disseminate information regarding fall prevention and the effectiveness of practice changes among healthcare teams.

Establishing necessary quality processes, including regular audits and performance evaluations, is imperative as they help identify areas for improvement and ensure staff adherence to evidence-based practices in fall prevention. Lastly, the organization must strengthen interprofessional collaboration through shared- decision-making, regular team meetings, and effective communication as it fosters teamwork among healthcare disciplines in addressing multifactorial aspects of fall prevention (Gemmeke et al., 2022). Yet, some knowledge gaps persist related to the optimal staffing ratios and the impact of organizational culture on staff adherence to fall prevention protocol.

References 

AHRQ. (2019, September 7). Falls. psnet.ahrq.gov. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/falls

Dall’Ora, C., Ball, J., Reinius, M., & Griffiths, P. (2020). Burnout in nursing: A theoretical review. Human Resources for Health, 18(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00469-9

Els, R. C., & Meyer, H. W. (2024). The influence of leaders’ attitudes and commitment to quality management of training on organisational excellence: A mixed-methods study. Human Resource Development International, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2024.2315925 

Gemmeke, M., Taxis, K., Bouvy, M. L., & Koster, E. S. (2022). Perspectives of primary care providers on multidisciplinary collaboration to prevent medication-related falls. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, 6, 100149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcsop.2022.100149 

LeLaurin, J. H., & Shorr, R. I. (2020). Preventing falls in hospitalized patients: State of the science. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 35(2), 273–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2019.01.007

Lu, L., Ko, Y.-M., Chen, H.-Y., Chueh, J.-W., Chen, P.-Y., & Cooper, C. L. (2022). Patient safety and staff well-being: Organizational culture as a resource. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6), 3722. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063722