Safe Patient Handling

QSEN Paper: Patient Safety Competency in the Nursing Profession The purpose of this paper is to discuss how safety in the nursing profession affects the nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing research. Safety in the nursing profession means

The Occupational Safety and Health Act purpose is to assure that individuals are working in safe environments. OSHA has been around for over 40 years and has come with many advantages as well as disadvantages. According to OSHA, “nursing homes and personal care facilities has had one the highest injury and illness rates, workers have faced numerous amounts of health hazards, and disorders compared to other work places”. These obstacles occurring in the health care work force has lead to the NYS Safe Patient Handling Act. This act consists of programs ensuring workers are better educated on how to prevent injuries, reduce disorders and improve quality of care towards patients.

Mulloy, D. F., & Hughes, R. G. (2008). Patient safety & quality: an evidence-based handbook for nurses. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2678/

Analysis of H.R. 4266: Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2015 The following paper will introduce the house bill number 4266 titled Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2015. This bill attempts to lessen nurse injuries by investing in safe patient handling and mobilization technologies and education

healthcare organization accrediting bodies, and to maintain credibility with patients and peers alike, must adhere to the National Patient Safety Goals. As stated by Ulrich and Kear (2014), "Not only are nurses responsible for providing safe patient care, we are also responsible for creating an environment in which others can provide safe patient care, and for being the last line of defense when needed between the patient and potential harm. Having a deep understanding of patient safety and patient safety culture allows nurses to be the leaders we need to be in ensuring that our patients are always

Presentation Rationale Judith Kalevor WGU Element of Effective Communication Task 1 YJI1 Sara Baker March 15, 2016 Presentation Rationale Purpose: The purpose of this speech is to inform my audience about the importance of safe nurse staffing that can help improve patient satisfaction, decrease patient complications, reduce nurse fatigue, improve nurse retention, decrease patient mortality, and reduce medical and medication error.

Background Research A study conducted on the Canadian workforce by OHSAH (2004) indicated that nurses are prone to more workplace injuries than any other occupational group. The study revealed that injury rates vary significantly by health care settings and occupation. Among the 3 categories of workers in the study (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and care

Mandating safe staffing levels for registered nurses in acute care settings has been an important topic of discussion for many years. As the demand for registered nurses continues to rise, so does the clinical demands on the nurses currently working. If there are no specific policies in place that mandate safe and appropriate nurse-to-patient ratios for all acute care facilities, registered nurses (RNs) may be required to take on even more patients than the already high numbers currently given to many of them. Inadequate RN staffing has the potential to cause increases in adverse patient events (American Nurses Association (ANA), The registered nurse safe staffing act, 2015) as well as an increase in nurse injury (Musick, Trotto, & Morrison,

Missed Nursing Care, Staffing, and Patient Falls Grand Canyon University Nursing Research Nursing:433-V Angie Lawson, RN March 9, 2014 Introduction Patient safety is a concern in the hospital setting. Missed nursing care due to high nurse patient ratios, or staffing issues leads to patient falls. Patient falls tend to be a big issue and expensive matter for hospitals nationwide. This paper will focus on a qualitative research article regarding missed nursing care, staffing, and patient falls. Included will be a summary of the research, methods and research used in the study, significance of the research findings, ethical considerations, and a conclusion.

In the 1990’s, the American Nurses Association (ANA) identified indicators which brought about the development of the Nursing’s Patient Safety and Quality Initiative (Miller & Soule, 2008). These indicators were specific to nursing,

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is supporting efforts to reduce or eliminate musculoskeletal injuries associated with lifting, repositioning, and transferring patients. According to the American Nurses Association (2016), the average nurse will lift 1.8 tons per shift and over 38% of nurses will experience a back injury during his or her career. The ANA endorses legislation that requires healthcare facilities to implement the use of patient handling assistive equipment. Through this initiative, the ANA hopes to ease some of the nursing shortage issues that are compounded by work-related injuries.

The Miami VA hospital has been troubled after the scandal that involved thousands of patients being exposed to the risks of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The major issue arose on the fact the management in place was not making any progress to deal with the problem. After going through the

Safety is a small measure that can make a big impact on a patient in the clinical setting. In some cases, it can even cost patients their lives. According to the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, safety is defined as a tool to minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance (Barnsteiner, 2011). Safety problems can range from the nurse not knowing how to work certain equipment, or the nurse recording values wrong because he or she is distracted. Either way, these safety issues impact the clinical setting in a negative way. In order to have a functional, safe clinical environment, time and money must be spent to keep the hospital in working order and the nurses in the correct mindset.

Introduction In health care settings across the country patient care is compromised by various preventable mistakes. Health care workers (HCW) are continuously pushing the boundaries of time constraints. As these demands are increased the possibility for poor patient outcomes also increase. Prevention is the first line of defense and promotes healthy practices for HCW and patients. The Joint Commission (TJC) collects data pertaining to the incidences, information surrounding each case and establishes a national quality and safety standard. TJC accredits thousands of health care establishments with the goal to provide safety and increase the quality of care provided in each setting. In 2016 TJC released a new set of National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG). The goals are meant to bring awareness to the accredited facilities and HCW of concerning hazards that need to be focused on. For instance, using two identifiers when identifying a patient to prevent medical errors, and preforming hand hygiene to reduce the risk of infections.

The Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2015 (H.R. 2083) was introduced by Senator Lois Capps to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide patient protection by establishing safe nurse staffing levels. It proposes a balanced approach to ensure adequate RN staffing. It ascertains that direct care nurses, working closely with managers, are best equipped to determine the staffing level for the patients on their units. Higher patient loads put patients at risk for longer hospital stays, increased infections, avoidable medication errors, falls, injuries and even death. The Act considers RN educational preparation, professional certification and level of clinical experience, the number and capacity of available health care personnel, and the geography of a unit including available technology in relation to patient