By James M Katz, BA

The Role of the Chief Nurse in Ensuring Employee and Patient Safety:

As the chief nurse, it is your responsibility to ensure that serious safety events are prevented and reduced in your facility. In order to do this, you must be aware of the potential risks and hazards that exist in your facility. You must also have a system in place to identify these risks and hazards. Once you have identified the risks and hazards, you must implement strategies to mitigate them. Some strategies you may consider include:

-Educating staff on proper safety procedures: What instructions are you providing to your staff in regards to their safety?

-Conducting regular safety audits: How are you testing your staff safety readiness?

-Implementing security measures: Are you giving your staff the proper tools and policies to protect themselves as well as the patients?

-Creating a culture of safety in your facility: Are you cultivating a positive and safe working environment?

By taking these steps, you can help reduce the occurrence of serious safety events in your facility.

This article helps illustrate key points in employee and patient safety and how Nurse Management can implement strategies to proactively prevent common safety issues. Issues like; patient falls, common medication errors, lowering the chance of hospital acquired infections, and having resolutions in place to combat them. This article will not only help you identify potential safety hazards but also perhaps help you come up with policy solutions to prevent them from happening in the first place!

“Lanie Ward: The most common patient safety issues that I see through my eyes as a CNO are [these] three: medication errors, hospital-acquired infections, and patient falls. There’s no question that med errors happen with the greatest frequency. Many of them cause no harm to the patient, but some do cause severe harm and even result in patient death. That’s why it’s so important that we carefully evaluate all med errors, even if there was no harm.”

Chief Nurse: How to Reduce Serious Safety Events. By Carol Davis. Healthleaders.com. October 17, 2022
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Commentary

The Importance of Communication and Collaboration Among Staff:

It is essential for staff members to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively with one another. Good communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and can work together efficiently to achieve common goals. It also allows for the sharing of ideas and knowledge, which can lead to better decision making and improved outcomes.

Furthermore, collaboration among staff members helps to build team morale and cohesion. When staff members are able to work together towards a common goal, it builds trust and respect for one another. This, in turn, leads to a more positive work environment where employees are more engaged and productive.

Good communication and collaboration are essential for any organization or business that wants to be successful. By fostering a culture of open communication and teamwork, businesses can create an environment where employees can thrive and reach their full potential.

Strategies for Reducing Falls and Other Common Safety Events:

Falls are one of the most common safety events in healthcare. They can lead to serious injury, and even death. However, there are strategies that healthcare managers can use to reduce the incidence of falls.

One strategy is to identify patients who are at risk for falling. This includes patients who are elderly, have a history of falling, or have certain medical conditions that make them more likely to fall. Once at-risk patients have been identified, steps can be taken to make sure they are being closely monitored.

Another strategy is to create a “fall prevention team”. This team should consist of nurses, doctors, and any other staff members who regularly interact with patients. The team should meet on a regular basis to discuss fall prevention strategies and share any new information about at-risk patients.

The Benefits of Using Data to Identify Trends and Target Interventions:

Nursing data is a powerful tool that can be used to identify trends and target healthcare interventions. By analyzing nursing data, healthcare professionals can develop more effective management strategies that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Nursing data can be used to track changes in patients’ health over time, identify potential risk factors for certain conditions, and evaluate the effectiveness of various treatments. By understanding these trends, healthcare providers can tailor their interventions to more effectively address the needs of their patients.

In addition, nursing data can help assess the impact of external factors on patients’ health. For example, by tracking emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and readmissions, nurses can identify patterns that may be indicative of problems with access to care or poor quality of care. By using this information to target specific interventions, nurses can help improve the overall quality of healthcare delivery.

Conclusion: the Chief Nurse’s Role in Improving Patient Safety:

In conclusion, the chief nurse’s role in improving patient safety is essential. The chief nurse is responsible for ensuring that nurses are competent and safe, and for setting the tone for a culture of safety in the organization. The chief nurse can make a difference in patient safety by promoting a culture of safety, by leading by example, and by advocating for patients’ rights.

If you are a chief nurse or part of the nursing management staff and would like to further your knowledge and become a certified Nurse Management professional then perhaps you would like to visit our Nurse Management Certification Program? You can access our program and the required online courses here – Nurse Management CE Courses 

Additional Resources:

Control of hospital acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance in Europe: the way to go. Friedrich, A.W.  Wien Med Wochenschr 169 (Suppl 1), 25–30 (2019).
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Reducing hospital-acquired infections and improving the rational use of antibiotics in a developing country: an effectiveness study. Murni IK, Duke T, Kinney S, et al. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2015;100:454-459.
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Can Rounding Reduce Patient Falls in Acute Care? An Integrative Literature Review Hicks, Darlene. Medsurg Nursing; Pitman Vol. 24, Iss. 1,  (Jan/Feb 2015): 51-55.
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Patient safety culture as perceived by operating room professionals: a mixed-methods study. Aouicha, W., Tlili, M.A., Sahli, J. et al. BMC Health Serv Res 22, 799 (2022).
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