Culture of Safety Nursing - Case Study Example

Culture of Safety Culture of Safety Many people are often caught in a dilemma between what is written in nursing text books and what is in the actual practice. Nurses are always surprised to find that there is much difference between lecture halls and the real world. There is a very big difference between what is written in nursing books, what a hospital requires journals and the real practice. There are those things that are obviously learnt from books and literature. There are also guidelines that are in the discipline. On the other hand, there are those things that are not taught in nursing schools. These include social aspects of people. For example, there are people who are difficult to deal with. People who are non-compliant. In text books and literature, it is assumed that all patients are compliant.This means that what is taught in text books is enhanced by the actual practice. Therefore one cannot fully rely on the knowledge in schools when they get to the actual practice. This however does not mean that it should be ignored. There are also hospitals and procedures that govern a health facility. There are the standards set to regulate the actual in the work place. They can be different from what the nursing text books say and other forms of literature. This is because every facility is unique with its own set of rules. A nurse should therefore know when to apply the books knowledge and when to apply knowledge gained from experience (Ramsden, 1992). A culture of safety is when an organization priorities the safety of patients. Elements of culture safety include making safety a priority across the organization, Training of on going assessment of safety, clear safety goals for patients and policies. The only way the culture of safety can be attained is by speaking up. Many health workers witness cases of rules being broken among their colleagues, but they do not report. Drew’s case is not different. He should speak up without feeling intimidated in order to uphold the culture of safety. He should approach the RN with those concerns and should not be intimidated by the fact that he is an inexperienced fresh graduate. Drew should also air his concerns in writing to the relevant authority.He should stand up for what is right and this will even earn him respect from his colleagues. The hospital environment should set an atmosphere where health workers can speak up openly. Patient safety can be defined as liberty from accidental harm due to medical care or medical error. If Drew speaks up, he will prevent patients from getting infections and even more serious damage as a result of poor hygiene. He doesn’t have to feel that just because the RN has been in practice for a longer times that him; she has a right to ignore procedures and guidelines in practice (Ramsden, 1992). Drew has a responsibility to ensure the safety of patients in his work environment. It does not matter if the offender is more experienced than him. Safety rules are always set for the best interest of the patient.He is also a profession who has been trained and therefore he knows what is right .He should speak about his concerns to the RN. He should however not do this in an intimidating way. He should approach the RN like a fellow professional and talk this out.Drew can also approach the administration of the hospital and request for another preceptor incase things do not work out with the initial RN. A much as people gain experience and practice according to the context they are in, basic guidelines must be observed.They are usually set to govern any given discipline and to maintain the standards of the given discipline.They should therefore be observed all the time regardless of the years of experience of the health professional.Drew knows that infection control procedures like hand washing and sterilization are very vital in safety of patients.He should be confident and approach the RN and ask her in person why she is ignoring the basic procedures.He should also practice these guidelines in the presence of the RN so as to pass the message indirectly. If these do not work, then Drew should take a step and inform a colleague of the same level as the RN. This colleague must also be someone who observes procedures and guidelines to the letter.This way, Drew will be protecting the patients’ safety by ensuring that infections are prevented. He might protect them indirectly but this will go a long way in improving the quality of patient care. Nurses bridge the gap created in healthcare quality. They determine in a very significant way the level of quality of health care. It is Drew’s responsibility as a nurse to ensure high quality of care is provided. He has a moral and ethical duty towards his profession. He should follow the guidelines of his first preceptor who followed procedures to the letter and set his expectations higher. There are no short cuts in the field of nursing because people’s lives are involved here. High quality of care and all procedures must be followed regardless of how minor they may appear to be. There is a great reason why they have been set in the first place.If he follows the guidance of the first preceptor, then he will become a better nurse. Patient safety should always come first in the field of nursing. This is what the profession is all about. In our case scenario, Lindsey’s best friend and colleague is jeopardizing the safety of patients. The first thing to do is to act without delay. Lindsey should investigate if truly Lindsey’s colleague is using the drugs meant for patients so as to be sure. Lindsey can ask the patients about the medication and how often they get the drugs from that particular nurse. When this is established, the next step should be to approach her as a colleague and ask her why she is doing so. Lindsey should be able to explain to her colleague the consequence of such an act.This is a serious violation of human rights as it is termed as neglect (Wood & Schwass, 1993). Lindsey’s best friend also has a short temper at work. This can be solved by talking to her as her best friend so as to get to the root of her problem.Lindsey should explain to her colleague that her actions are against the rules and regulations of her profession. There are much worse consequences of keeping quiet than speaking out. Lindsey might risk loosing her best friend for speaking out her concerns to her but she might save her much trouble from the regulatory board if she is discovered.If Lindsey does not speak up, her fitness to practice as a nurse might be put to question. Her registration as a nurse might also be put at risk.Professional duty should always be put first before friendship. The two scenarios are very similar. These are some of the things that nurses experience duringpractice. Often people talk about how different it is in classrooms and the real world. This is true but the classroom knowledge is equally significant. There is a good reason why someone is trained theoretically first before they are introduced to the actual practice. Every nurse has a professional duty to put the safety of the patients first..There are guidelines on whistleblowing that are set so as to protect the whistleblowers from abuse after raising concerns (Wood & Schwass, 1993).There are professional bodies and unions that offer advice on this. Nurses should cooperate to protect the well being of those under their care. One does not always have to give tangible evidence that something wrong is being done. A reasonable belief that wrongdoing is happening. This will go a long way in improving health care quality. References Ramsden, I. (1992 Jun). Teaching cultural safety.The New Zealand nursing journal, 85(5): 21- 23. Wood, P.J. and Schwass, M. (1993 Mar). Cultural safety: A framework for changing attitudes. Nursing praxis in New Zealand, 8(1): 4-15. Read More