NURS FPX 4020 Enhancing Safety and Quality Essay

NURS FPX 4020 Enhancing Safety and Quality Essay

NURS FPX 4020 Enhancing Safety and Quality Essay

Enhancing Safety and Quality Essay Sample Paper

Enhancing Safety and Quality
Nurses play a crucial role in medication administration to patients. Safety in medication administration is the nurses’ priority in the care process. In some cases, medication administration errors arise predisposing patients to increased risk of unintended harm. Nurses and other healthcare providers constantly explore evidence-based interventions that they can adopt to minimize the risk of harm in medication administration processes. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to explore best and evidence-based solutions that can be adopted to improve patient in medication administration and reducing cost. It also explores factors that lead to medication administration errors and nurses’ role in care coordination to increase safety.

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Factors Leading to Medication Administration Errors
The selected patient-safety risk related to medication administration is medication administration errors. According to Wondmieneh et al. (2020), medication administration errors are the most common errors in nursing practice with dangerous outcomes for patients, healthcare providers, and institutions. Nurses administer most of the medications in healthcare, making them the leading professionals involved in medication administration errors. Several factors contribute to medication administration errors. One of them is increased workload. Nurses are prone to committing a medication administration error if they have a high workload with complex care needs from their patients. Medication administration errors also arise from the lack of adequate knowledge and skills among nurses (Wondmieneh et al., 2020). Nurses should be provided with regular training and education opportunities on safe and proper administration of medications to promote safety.
Medication administration errors also arise from the lack of guidelines for medication administration for nurses. This results in the inability of the nurses to follow standardized and structured procedures in medication administration, which increase the risk of errors (Koyama et al., 2020). Inadequate work experience is the other factor causing medication administration errors. Nurses joining the workforce may have inadequate experience in the administration of some medications. A lack of mentorship and supervision to them during medication administration increases the risk of errors. Interruptions during the process of medication administration also predict the increased risk of medication administration errors (Tariq et al., 2023). The interruptions may result in confusion and wrongful administration of a drug to a patient, hence, the error. The additional factors that lead to medication administration errors in nursing practice include poor nurse-physician communication, nurse staffing, medication transcription issues, and medication packaging (Montgomery et al., 2021).
Evidence-Based and Best-Practice Solutions to Improve Patient Safety
As noted above, nurses play crucial roles in the promotion of patient safety in medication administration and reducing care costs. Nurses can adopt evidence-based and best practices to achieve these outcomes. First, nurses can adhere to organizational protocols that guide medication administration to promote safety and reduce costs. An example is following organizational procedures such as the fiver rights in the medication administration. Some organizations have also implemented the use of practices such as double-checking a medication before its administration for the promotion of safety in the care process (Koyama et al., 2020).
Technology use is part of the best practices that nurses use to promote safety and reduce costs in the modern world. Most health organizations currently use health information technologies such as barcode systems and integrated electronic health records to minimize the risk of patient harm. Barcode medication administration system automates medication administration processes such as confirming the patient’s details, the prescribed medications, time, and route of administration. Evidence shows that barcode systems reduce significantly the risk and rate of medication errors, hence, care quality and safety (Mulac et al., 2021).
The promotion of nurses’ professional and personal development is another evidence-based strategy that promotes safety and reduces costs in medication administration. The provision of training and educational opportunities for nurses increase their competencies on issues related to the promotion of safety in the care process. It also empowers them to be proactively involved in identifying effective and efficient strategies to improve safety, quality, and efficiency in the patient care processes (Wondmieneh et al., 2020). Additional best and evidence-based practices include teamwork, openness in error reporting, and the creation of patient safety culture in an organization.
How Nurses Can Help Coordinate Care to Increase Patient Safety
Nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs. One of the ways in which nurses can be involved to achieve these objectives is advocating the adoption of evidence-based practices in medication administration to promote safety and reduce costs. An example is nurses advocating the adoption of health information technologies and interprofessional collaboration to minimize the risk of errors in medication administration. Nurses can also ensure the provision of comprehensive health education to all patients to prevent medication use errors(Toivo et al., 2019). Health education would empower patients to play a proactive role in adopting behaviors that promote safety and quality in the treatment of their health problems.
Nurses can also lead the creation of a culture of patient safety as part of care coordination to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs. Health organizations should have cultures where providers report errors without fear of intimidation by the management. Nurses can ensure the organizational culture promotes safety through open error reporting and investigation to inform continuous quality improvement rather than victimization of the staff(Toivo et al., 2019).According to Russ-Jara et al., (2021), nurses and other healthcare providers can incorporate care coordination strategies such as cognitive decentering, use of back-up behaviors, contingency planning, and collaborative decision-making to enhance medication administration and use safety. Therefore, nurses should explore these care coordination strategies to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.
Stakeholders
Nurses will need to collaborate with different stakeholders in care coordination to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration. They include other nurses, physicians, pharmacists, patients, and the significant others of the patients. Stakeholders such as physicians and pharmacists prescribe and dispense drugs respectively. Patients and their significant others influence the safe use of the prescribed medications. These stakeholders should be actively involved in care coordination to ensure the adoption of best practices that optimize care outcomes while minimizing the risks of harms to patients and their significant others (Tariq et al., 2023).
Conclusion
The promotion of safety and reduction of costs in medication administration is crucial in nursing practice. Nurses can adopt best and evidence-based practices to ensure safety in medication administration and reduction in costs. Several factors contribute to medication administration errors. Nurses should lead the implementation of care coordination strategies that will enhance safety and reduce costs in medication administration. Different stakeholders should be involved in implementing evidence-based and best-practice interventions to enhance safety in medication administration.
References
Koyama, A. K., Maddox, C.-S. S., Li, L., Bucknall, T., & Westbrook, J. I. (2020). Effectiveness of double checking to reduce medication administration errors: A systematic review. BMJ Quality & Safety, 29(7), 595–603. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009552
Montgomery, A. P., Azuero, A., Baernholdt, M., Loan, L. A., Miltner, R. S., Qu, H., Raju, D., & Patrician, P. A. (2021). Nurse Burnout Predicts Self-Reported Medication Administration Errors in Acute Care Hospitals. The Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ), 43(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000274
Mulac, A., Mathiesen, L., Taxis, K., & Granås, A. G. (2021). Barcode medication administration technology use in hospital practice: A mixed-methods observational study of policy deviations. BMJ Quality & Safety, 30(12), 1021–1030. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2021-013223
Russ-Jara, A. L., Luckhurst, C. L., Dismore, R. A., Arthur, K. J., Ifeachor, A. P., Militello, L. G., Glassman, P. A., Zillich, A. J., & Weiner, M. (2021). Care Coordination Strategies and Barriers during Medication Safety Incidents: A Qualitative, Cognitive Task Analysis. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(8), 2212–2220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06386-w
Tariq, R. A., Vashisht, R., Sinha, A., & Scherbak, Y. (2023). Medication Dispensing Errors and Prevention. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/
Toivo, T., Airaksinen, M., Dimitrow, M., Savela, E., Pelkonen, K., Kiuru, V., Suominen, T., Uunimäki, M., Kivelä, S.-L., Leikola, S., & Puustinen, J. (2019). Enhanced coordination of care to reduce medication risks in older home care clients in primary care: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Geriatrics, 19(1), 332. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-019-1353-2
Wondmieneh, A., Alemu, W., Tadele, N., & Demis, A. (2020). Medication administration errors and contributing factors among nurses: A cross sectional study in tertiary hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-0397-0

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For this assessment, you will develop a 3-5 page paper that examines a safety quality issue pertaining to medication administration in a health care setting. You will analyze the issue and examine potential evidence-based and best-practice solutions from the literature as well as the role of nurses and other stakeholders in addressing the issue.
Health care organizations and professionals strive to create safe environments for patients; however, due to the complexity of the health care system, maintaining safety can be a challenge. Since nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals, a great deal of responsibility falls in the hands of practicing nurses. Quality improvement (QI) measures and safety improvement plans are effective interventions to reduce medical errors and sentinel events such as medication errors, falls, infections, and deaths. A 2000 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report indicated that almost one million people are harmed annually in the United States, (Kohn et al., 2000) and 210,000–440,000 die as a result of medical errors (Allen, 2013).
The role of the baccalaureate nurse includes identifying and explaining specific patient risk factors, incorporating evidence-based solutions to improving patient safety and coordinating care. A solid foundation of knowledge and understanding of safety organizations such as Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and The Joint Commission and its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program is vital to practicing nurses with regard to providing and promoting safe and effective patient care.
You are encouraged to complete the Identifying Safety Risks and Solutions activity. This activity offers an opportunity to review a case study and practice identifying safety risks and possible solutions. We have found that learners who complete course activities and review resources are more successful with first submissions. Completing course activities is also a way to demonstrate course engagement.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
• Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative.
o Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs.
• Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks.
o Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration.
• Competency 4: Explain the nurse’s role in coordinating care to enhance quality and reduce costs.
o Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.
o Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.
o Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
o Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.
References
Allen, M. (2013). How many die from medical mistakes in U.S. hospitals? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/09/20/224507654/how-many-die-from-medical-mistakes-in-u-s-hospitals.
Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M. S. (Eds.). (2000). To err is human: Building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Professional Context
As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for implementing quality improvement (QI) and patient safety measures in health care settings. Effective quality improvement measures result in systemic and organizational changes, ultimately leading to the development of a patient safety culture.
Scenario
Consider a previous experience or hypothetical situation pertaining to medication errors, and consider how the error could have been prevented or alleviated with the use of evidence-based guidelines.
Choose a specific condition of interest surrounding a medication administration safety risk and incorporate evidence-based strategies to support communication and ensure safe and effective care.
For this assessment:
• Analyze a current issue or experience in clinical practice surrounding a medication administration safety risk and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative in the health care setting.
Instructions
The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address a medication administration safety risk. This will be within the specific context of patient safety risks at a health care setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in health care settings from organizations such as QSEN and the IOM. Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures currently in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients surrounding medication administration, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote medication administration safety in the context of your chosen health care setting.
Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you know what is needed for a distinguished score.
• Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration.
• Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs.
• Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs.
• Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with medication administration.
• Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.
Additional Requirements
• Length of submission: 3–5 pages, plus title and reference pages.
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style.
Enhancing Quality and Safety Scoring Guide – DISTINGUISHED LEVEL

CRITERIA PROFICIENT DISTINGUISHED
Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration. Explains factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration. Explains factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration. Makes reference to specific data, evidence, or standards to illustrate the safety risk.
Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs. Explains evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs. Explains evidence-based and best practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs. Makes explicit reference to scholarly or professional resources to support explanation.
Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs. Explains how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs. Explains how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs, providing specific examples related to a patient safety risk.
Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration. Identifies stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration. Identifies stakeholders with whom nurses would need to coordinate to drive quality and safety enhancements with medication administration, noting the relevance and potential importance of the stakeholders.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling. Organizes content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar or punctuation, word choice, and spelling. Organizes content with a clear purpose. Content flows logically with smooth transitions using coherent paragraphs, correct grammar or punctuation, word choice, and free of spelling errors.
Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format. Applies APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format. Exhibits strict and flawless adherence to APA formatting of headings, in-text citations, and references. Quotes and paraphrases correctly.