Nursing Question

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CO 2: Identify characteristics of professional behavior including emotional intelligence, communication, and conflict resolution.

CO 3: Demonstrate information literacy and the ability to utilize resources.

Due date: Your faculty member will inform you when this assignment is due. The Late Assignment Policy applies to this assignment.

Total points possible: 150 points

Preparing the assignment

Follow these guidelines when completing this assignment. Speak with your faculty member if you have questions.

1)Locating Evidence

a.Using the Chamberlain University library, search for a recent (published within the last five years) evidence- based article from a scholarly journal that addresses one of the topics listed.

Safety

Delegation

Prioritization

Caring

  • 2)Include the following sections.
  • a.Introduction - 20 points/13%
  • Clearly establishes the purpose of the paper
  • Includes key points to be covered

Captures the reader’s interest

b.Body of Paper - 60 points/40%

  • Complete, well-developed discussion of key points
  • Supports the purpose or main idea of the paper
  • Logical development of ideas with clear and accurate information

Ideas and statements are supported by three or more examples from personal and/or professional experiences

  • Provides own perspectives on the topic that is reflective, insightful, and original
  • c.Conclusion - 30 points/20%
  • Clear and concise
  • Summarizes key points discussed in the paper
  • Leaves a strong impression, message, or idea on the reader

d.Writing Style - 15 point/10%

  • e.Correct use of standard English grammar, paragraph, and sentence structure
  • f.No spelling or typographical errors
  • g.Organized around required components

h.Information flows in a logical sequence that is easy for the reader to follow

i.APA Format, and References - 25 points/17%

There is correct and appropriate use of margins, spacing, font, and headers

Document setup includes title and reference pages in correct APA format

NR103 Transition to the Nursing Profession Transitions Paper Guidelines

Citation of sources included in the body of the paper uses correct APA format for direct and indirect quotes

  • All elements of each reference are included in the correct order
  • All information taken from the source, even if summarized, is cited and listed on the Reference page


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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

1

Safety in Nursing Care

Name
Institution
Course
Professor
Date

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Safety in Nursing Care
Every patient that seeks care in a healthcare setting hopes to come out of the facility
being in a better health state. A patient is admitted in the medical unit for observation and they
are recuperating well given the treatment plan in place. However, a mistake occurs and the
patient is prescribed with the wrong medications which lead to a severe respiratory reaction and
death. This is a hypothetical example of an unfortunate safety incident in healthcare and there are
numerous other scenarios. Safety is a crucial element that is central to all nursing and healthcare
responsibilities especially while the patient is admitted in the hospital. When transitioning to
practice, nurses need to be informed in and competent on matters of safety. This paper discusses
the concept of safety in nursing by developing a definition with main components to be
considered, measures of safety, safety culture, and discussion of its importance in the healthcare
setting. Safety is a central concept in nursing and should be upheld in all nursing work to
promote a culture of safety and quality care provision.
Defining Safety
Safety is a complex phenomenon and developing a clear definition is necessary for nurses
to understand what it encompasses. In a general sense, the state of being safe means that one is
free from harm to which they may reasonably be exposed. The Institute of Medicine (IOM)
defines safety as the prevention from harm that can be caused in the healthcare setting such as
medical errors. The institute further outlines safety as a subdomain of the measures of quality (as
cited in Brauner et al., 2018). By this definition, safety can be viewed as the assurance of
patients’ protection from risks that cause some form of harm. The key terms here being
‘prevention’ and ‘harm’. Therefore, nurses can understand safety as a phenomenon whereby
patients are protected from foreseeable harm.

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Moreover, safety can be understood as a complex phenomenon that combines the patient
outcomes as well as proactive approaches to guaranteeing certain outcomes. The general sense of
safety is defined from an outcomes point of view, as in assessment of patient outcomes during
their encounter or stay in a health facility. However, it can also be defined from a proactive point
of view in that specific steps taken so that risky situations do not occur (Dreiher et al., 2020). For
example, in the nursing home, the presence of a policy that mandates patients’ risk assessment
can be viewed as promoting safety. The outcomes of safety are, therefore, the rates or risk of
falls in the nursing home. When defining safety in nursing, it is thus crucial to consider the
outcomes as well as proactive action taken to manage them.
Any concept can be defined by breaking down its components and this is achievable by
considering Walker and Avant’s concept analysis model. In the model, a concept can be
analyzed by defining the antecedents and consequences of a concept. Following this model,
safety antecedents can be summarized as a culture of safety, resources, competence, and policy
that support patient safety (Dreiher et al., 2020). A culture of safety, discussed later in this paper,
is an antecedent because it creates an environment where safety can be upheld. Resources and
competence refer to components such as adequate staffing and their training in safety. A policy
to support safety is also often needed to mandate specific action to prevent harm. With the
presence of these components, it is highly likely that patients will experience safety in the
healthcare setting.
The consequences of safety in nursing overlap with attributes of the concept and define
the outcomes of a culture of safety and improved safety practices in the healthcare organization.
The reduction or avoidance of patient harm is the main consequence of patient safety. This is a
measurable and observable change once safety improvement is instituted in a healthcare

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organization. Additionally, improved patient satisfaction and high quality of care can also be
defined as consequences of safety in nursing (Dreiher et al., 2020). Patient satisfaction may be
dependent on how they experienced the care processes and harm caused to them significantly
affects their experience. Similarly, safety has been defined as a subdomain of quality and hence
with improved safety comes improved quality. These components of safety help outline the
atmosphere within which safety can be achieved and anticipated outcomes of the same.
Measures of Safety
Patient safety can be measured using structural, outcome, and process measures.
Structural measures are an assessment of how care is organized. An example of structural patient
safety measures is the use of patient safety practices such as computerized physician order entry
systems. Outcome measures evaluate the patient health outcomes in the care setting and may
include aspects such as the incidence of adverse events in the patient population. Process
measures evaluate what is done to the patient (Witczak et al., 2021). Adherence to safety
protocols such as the proportion of patients whose safety checklist is completed is a process
measure. A combination of these measures is usually necessary to determine the level of safety
in the healthcare setting.
Other than this classification of measurement components, safety can further be evaluated
in the convergence of outcomes and causes of patient safety incidents. According to Johanessen
et al. (2020), at the basis of all safety measures is the policy governing care because it determines
the structures and processes for patient safety. Policy may be present at the state and national
level as well as the organizational level. Other than policy, diagnosis, medication, medical
procedures, infection, and injury are the other main components of safety (Johanessen et al.,
2020). These outline the main scope of nursing patient care and safety including aspects that may

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be associated with patient safety incidents. Considering the structures, processes, and outcomes
in each of these components can help in promoting safety.
Culture of Safety
A culture of safety is arguably the most important aspect of patient safety in healthcare
settings. By ‘culture,’ the focus is on the trends, norms, and practices that are upheld in the
healthcare setting. A culture of safety is the management, systems, and norms that promote safe
care provision in a specific healthcare setting (Johanessen et al., 2020). Organizational culture
determines how nurses attend to patients’ needs, processes implemented, and the quality of care
upheld. Therefore, establishing and maintaining a culture of safety is essential in promoting
patient safety in all nursing care settings.
Nursing homes have especially been identified as an important setting for promoting a
culture of safety. One professional example of such a culture is how well nurses communicate
patient safety risks and incidents. For instance, a nurse may identify fall risks in a resident in the
nursing home. The initiative to report such risks and also take proactive action to address it is a
reflection of the culture. According to Johanessen et al. (2020), challenges in promoting patient
safety in nursing homes often include trade-offs and may include aspects such as balancing the
duty of care and workload. In the nursing home, a culture of safety can be promoted by creating
policies and organizational norms that support nurses’ steps to uphold safety. This includes
recognizing the trade-offs in place and developing approaches to prioritize and support safety
promotion.
Importance of Safety
Safety in nursing is important for several reasons and the most basic is that nurses have a
professional and ethical responsibility to promote patients’ safety. Patients spend most of their

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time in healthcare facilities with nurses and consequently, nurses have the highest safety
responsibility. While other professionals are involved in promoting safety, nurses are the most
involved on various levels. Nurses’ roles and responsibilities are strategically placed to notice
safety challenges and prevent the risks from occurring (Hessels et al., 2019). As an example, the
nurse is able to identify that a patient is at risk of developing sores from their immobility and
skin integrity problems. It is their responsibility to then intervene and prevent the risk from
occurring.
Moreover, safety is crucial because it determines patient outcomes and quality of care
provided. The healthcare facility aims to provide care that promotes the best possible patient
outcomes; mostly full recovery from a health condition and restoring patient to health. The
impact of patient safety incidents on outcomes range from harmless to fatal incidents such as
those caused by medication errors (Dreiher et al., 2020). For instance, a patient may die due to
medication errors that lead to administration of wrong medication or a lethal dose of
medications. To prevent such outcomes, the facility and professionals need to consider safety as
a central aspect of their health care processes.
Conclusion
Safety is an essential aspect of nursing practice and should be addressed proactively to
promote care quality and health outcomes. Safety can generally be defined as a phenomenon
whereby the patient is safe from harm and it includes both proactive measures and health
outcomes of the patient. Measures of safety can be identified as structural, processes, and
outcome measures and generally include the policy and measures to reduce adverse events in the
care setting. Above all, a culture of safety is essential in promoting patient safety and health

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outcomes. The concept of safety should be upheld by nurses and healthcare facilities to enhance
their care and patient outcomes.

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References
Brauner, D., Werner, R. M., Shippee, T. P., Cursio, J., Sharma, H., & Konetzka, R. T. (2018).
Does nursing home compare reflect patient safety in nursing homes? Health Affairs,
37(11), 1770-1778. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0721
Dreiher, D., Blagorazumnaya, O., Balicer, R., & Dreiher, J. (2020). National initiatives to
promote quality of care and patien...


Anonymous
I was struggling with this subject, and this helped me a ton!

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