As healthcare professionals, it’s ingrained in nurses just how important patient safety is. Every day, nurses make work decisions that impact the lives of their patients, including ones that affect their trust, safety, and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that one in every 10 patients is harmed in healthcare and more than 3 million deaths occur because of unsafe care every year.
Nurses work directly and closely with patients daily, which can greatly affect the overall quality of care and patient satisfaction. This is why it’s imperative that nurses fully understand and employ key strategies to keep patient safety at the forefront.
This article tackles four important techniques nurses can use to reduce patient care-related risks and help build a safe health system.
Communicate actively, clearly, and compassionately
Communicating openly and clearly can help nurses and members of the interdepartmental healthcare team collaborate better and clarify important questions that can reduce potential mistakes, errors, and misunderstandings.
Nurses should actively and openly communicate especially during shift transitions. Change-of-shift information handoff is an important aspect of patient care, which is especially true in intensive care units (ICUs) where patients with potentially life-threatening conditions are treated. Giving and receiving proper handover information, such as updated patient records, medication lists, and treatment plans, is imperative.
Nurses should also communicate compassionately with patients. Patient care and safety can be greatly improved by building trust with patients, listening to their concerns, reassuring them, and answering their questions, especially during times of pain, distress, anxiety, and fear.
Avoid medical errors and learn from mistakes
Medical errors, which are the third leading cause of mortality in the country, are a serious public health concern. Reports state that medical errors cost healthcare systems billions of dollars each year, and cause preventable harm in 400,000 hospitalized patients and an estimated 200,000 deaths each year.
The following practical tips can help nurses eliminate or reduce medical errors:
· If you’re unsure of anything critical to patient safety, such as medication dosage or a medical record note, don’t hesitate to ask questions.
· Always follow the rights of medication administration to reduce medication errors:
o Right patient
o Right medication
o Right dose
o Right route
o Right time
o Right documentation
o Right reason
o Right response
· Always check patients for drug allergies.
· Double-check dosage and drug dosage calculations.
· Encourage and remind fall-risk patients to seek assistance when getting out of bed or going to the restroom. Make sure that they’re using nonslip socks and have bed alarms.
· Always check for drug allergies and contraindications.
· Regularly check patients’ conditions and accurately record them in patients’ charts.
· If there are any observed adverse reactions or events, report them immediately to nursing leaders and document them accordingly.
· Carefully follow doctors’ notes and instructions.
Stringently follow infection prevention and control (IPAC) practices
By following IPAC practices, which are evidence-based infection control techniques, nurses can help create an environment wherein both patients and healthcare professionals are safe from preventable infections. Unfortunately, healthcare-associated infections (HAI), or infections that result from healthcare complications, are still rampant today. In fact, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 31 hospital patients develops an HAI on any given day.
The following are important and effective ways to prevent the spread of infection:
· Being immunized
· Treating underlying illnesses
· Practicing hand hygiene
· Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)
· Controlling aerosols and splatters
· Proper waste disposal
· Practicing respiratory etiquette
· Cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing
· Isolating
Prevent burnout by taking care of yourself
To give high-quality, compassionate, and safe patient care, healthcare professionals need to take care of themselves to prevent nurse burnout. When it comes to nurses in the US experiencing burnout, there are some troubling statistics: 2.7 million nurses experience feeling burnt out and a staggering 95% of nurses felt burnt out from 2021 to 2023.
Burnout among nurses is extremely prevalent, and it is directly associated with increased medical errors, reduced patient satisfaction, and poor patient safety. The more burned out nurses get, the more cynical and detached they become from their work. This impairs their ability and capacity to deliver safe and patient-centered care.
Common nurse burnout symptoms include:
· Feeling exhausted
· Having anxiety
· Feeling dissatisfied at work
· Withdrawing from coworkers
· Being increasingly frustrated
· Having constant headaches
· Being ill more frequently
· Experiencing changes in sleeping or eating patterns
· Lacking motivation
· Missing work
To prevent or alleviate nurse burnout symptoms, nurses are advised to do the following:
· Get enough rest. Getting eight hours of sleep each day is imperative to battling burnout.
· Know your limits. When you’re fatigued and stressed, say no when you’re asked to cover extra shifts.
· Eat well and exercise. Studies have shown that eating a healthy diet and incorporating daily movement are associated with lower levels of burnout.
