APPENDIX B
Clinical Safety Paper
Rationale for the Assignment
This assignment will give you an opportunity to apply what you are learning in the class and have learned in your nursing practice regarding safety and quality and making organizational change at the unit level. This assignment is designed to assist you in preparing your clinical safety and quality project presentation.
Process for the Assignment
From the beginning of this course you need to gather evidence on a specific clinical safety topic related to your nursing practice and job experience. This literature and evidence will help you develop a foundational understanding of your clinical safety topic and a possible solution/plan to improve patient safety and quality care. You will write an eight-ten page paper that responds to this specific clinical safety issue.
- Your first step will be to generate a question or problem statement of your own that is related to the clinical safety project you are researching. This problem statement will introduce the idea for your safety project. Include purpose of the paper and what will be discussed in the paper. Complete description and discussion of the area/issue/situation where safety could be improved.
Include the specific setting, discussion of current practice, potential threat to patient safety, and who is involved in the situation.
Explain how you are involved in this situation.
How does the problem affect you as the nurse?
How does the problem put the patient at risk?
- Discuss how this specific situation/problem is related to sources of threat as depicted by the seven subcultures of patient safety identified by Sammer et al. Be sure to reference the Sammer et al. in your paper. Use a heading for each of the subcultures of patient safety.
- Summary/review of the literature that relates to and describes this and/or similar situations/risks. References are current, comprehensive, topic specific and include professional and lay literature.
Minimum of 3 – 4 professional references (in addition to course readings) from current (2008-2014) health care literature.
May use older literature to support historical context, however must show patient risk is current. Use a heading for Literature Review.
4.What is yourplan for improving the situation and threat to patient safety?
(Use a heading)
Plan should be specific and realistic. Identify all stakeholders, roles and responsibilities.
Specify your role.
Include a time frame and budget. (Use a heading)
Budget should reflect evidence of research into accurate costs of the plan.
This part should include a conclusion (use a heading) of the paper.
- Format of the paper. Neat, organized, computer generated, mechanics, structure and accurate use of APA professional style of writing.
This includes appropriate use of language, title page, reference page, text citations, level headings, header, page numbers, and reflects a professional appearance. Writing issues addressed in first, short written project are corrected.
Make sure you include a hard copy of each article.
Manuel Ramirez
Problem: A facility wide campaign to raise awareness for the importance of proper handwashing/hand sanitation for staff, residents and visitors to stop the spread of germs and the spread of infections.
Reason for Safety Concern:
In the setting of a Skilled nursing facility, working primarily with the elderly who are more prone and susceptible to infections due to poor nutrition, immobility and other health conditions such as dementia/Alzheimer’s, amongst other things, proper handwashing is crucial to their wellbeing. The clients, the staff, and visiting family members can all play a role in preventing infections by remembering to wash hands at all appropriate times.
Why is this a concern to me? The elderly are highly susceptible to infection due to already limited health. UTIs, C-Diff, pink eye, and central line-associated bloodstream infections are some of the common results of the lack of proper handwashing. These infections, added to their many other health diagnoses can contribute further to their declining health. As a charge nurse providing care I can make sure that proper handwashing is being performed by all staff as well as helping the clients themselves to have cleans hands always, through hand washing or the use of hand sanitizer.
Vision: I hope that all staff will have increased awareness of the importance of proper handwashing and help our clients to also perform procedures correctly most if not all the time to help stop the spread of unnecessary infections
Sammer, C. E., Lykens, K., Singh, K. P., Mains, D. A., &Lackan, N. A. (2010). What is patient safety culture? A review of the literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42(2), 156-65. doi# 10.1111/j.1547-5069-2009.01330.x
Scoring Rubric: NURS 465 Safety Paper (25 points)
Student: Date:
| Criteria | To earn maximum points | Points earned | Comments |
| 1. Introducing the safety issue: Problem Statement (5 points) | The safety topic is introduced, and groundwork is laid as to the direction of the paper. | ||
| 2. Sources &
Source quality *(Please submit a hard copy of each article.) (5 points) |
Includes a variety of sources from high quality journals, peer reviewed, and evidence-base publications. Nursing viewpoint is clear. Four or more quality sources topic specific as identified in the syllabus. | ||
| 3. Flow of the Review:
Organization and synthesis of information. (5 points) |
The summary goes from general ideas to specific conclusions. Transitions tie sections together, as well as adjacent t paragraphs. Flow facilitates ease of reading. Level headings and subheadings are clear and support flow and organization of review. Summarizes and shows insightful synthesis of the literature information, including analysis of gaps in and/or limitations of the research. | ||
| 4. Connection to Defined problem area
And related to the seven subcultures of patient safety in the Sammer article (4 points) |
Shows thorough understanding of the relationship of the sources selected to the problem area. Clear connection to Sammer article and 7 subcultures of patient safety. | ||
| 5. Plan for Improving the threat to patient safety (3 points) | Plan is very clear, specific and realistic. All roles are clear and well defined. Time frame and budget
reflect evidence of research into accurate costs of the plan. |
||
| 6. Style (3 points) | Contains only minor spelling or grammatical errors, demonstrates creative use of language, conscientiously follows APA style, uses quotations and citations to enhance written narrative, smooth transitions. Construction elements for APA writing style are accurate and include title page and reference list. |
Faculty Signature: Points Earned: /25
Comments: