Understand the intent of NPSGs
One of the keys to improving your ED's adherence to the National Patient Safety Goals is to "appreciate their intent," says Susan Paparella, RN, MSN, vice president of the Institute of Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, PA, and one of the authors of a recent article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety that addressed many of the reasons EDs have difficulty complying with the goals.
"We found that there wasn't a clear understanding of the intent and how to work with staff to implement the goals in a safe way," Paparella says.
Often ED nurse managers and nurses approach them "as another set of new rules," rather than trying to better understand the evidence behind their creation and then going back to their own practice setting and seeing where the gaps are, she says. This approach can present a challenge for some ED nurses, she notes. "ED nurses are very capable of changing on a dime, but without coaching on risky behaviors, they may do what they have always done and without realizing it they may be adding risk," Paparella says.
How can an ED manager gain a better understanding of the intent of the goals? "They're got to read up on them, and not just take them on face value," she says. "They also need to feel comfortable about accessing the requisite [hospital] resources in terms of their risk managers and patient safety officers." The goals are not limited to the ED, so talking to these individuals can be very beneficial, Paparella says. "The applications they use may require some re-analysis by the ED, but you should go to those folks because we all want to see these goals accomplished," she concludes.
One of the keys to improving your ED's adherence to the National Patient Safety Goals is to "appreciate their intent," says Susan Paparella, RN, MSN, vice president of the Institute of Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, PA, and one of the authors of a recent article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety that addressed many of the reasons EDs have difficulty complying with the goals.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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