INTRODUCTION

Healthcare organizations accredited by the Joint Commission are required to conduct a root cause analysis (RCA) in response to any sentinel event, such as the one described in the scenario attached below. Once the cause is identified and a plan of action established, it is useful to conduct a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to reduce the likelihood that a process would fail. As a member of the healthcare team in the hospital described in this scenario, you have been selected as a member of the team investigating the incident. 

SCENARIO

It is 3:30 p.m. on a Thursday and Mr. B, a 67-year-old patient, arrives at the six-room emergency department (ED) of a sixty-bed rural hospital. He has been brought to the hospital by his son and neighbor. At this time, Mr. B is moaning and complaining of severe pain to his (L) leg and hip area. He states he lost his balance and fell after tripping over his dog.

Mr. B was admitted to the triage room where his vital signs were B/P 120/80, HR-88 (regular), T-98.6, and R-32, and his weight was recorded at 175 pounds. Mr. B. states that he has no known allergies and no previous falls. He states, “My hip area and leg hurt really bad. I have never had anything like this before.” Patient rates pain at 10 out of 10 on the numerical verbal pain scale. He appears to be in moderate distress. His (L) leg appears shortened with swelling (edema in the calf), ecchymosis, and limited range of motion (ROM). Mr. B’s leg is stabilized and then is further evaluated and discharged from triage to the emergency department (ED) patient room. He is admitted by Nurse J. Nurse J finds that Mr. B has a history of impaired glucose tolerance and prostate cancer. At Mr. B’s last visit with his primary care physician, laboratory data revealed elevated cholesterol and lipids. Mr. B’s current medications are atorvastatin and oxycodone for chronic back pain. After Mr. B’s assessment is completed, Nurse J informs Dr. T, the ED physician, of admission findings, and Dr. T proceeds to examine Mr. B.

Staffing on this day consists of two nurses (one RN and one LPN), one secretary, and one emergency department physician. Respiratory therapy is in-house and available as needed. At the time of Mr. B’s arrival, the ED staff is caring for two other patients. One patient is a 43-year-old female complaining of a throbbing headache. The patient rates current pain at 4 out of 10 on numerical verbal pain scale. The patient states that she has a history of migraines. She received treatment, remains stable, and discharge is pending. The second patient is an eight-year-old boy being evaluated for possible appendicitis. Laboratory results are pending for this patient. Both of these patients were examined, evaluated, and cared for by Dr. T and are awaiting further treatment or orders.

After evaluation of Mr. B, Dr. T writes the order for Nurse J to administer diazepam 5 mg IVP to Mr. B. The medication diazepam is administered IVP at 4:05 p.m. After five minutes, the diazepam appears to have had no effect on Mr. B, and Dr. T instructs Nurse J to administer hydromorphone 2 mg IVP. The medication hydromorphone is administered IVP at 4:15 p.m. After five minutes, Dr. T is still not satisfied with the level of sedation Mr. B has achieved and instructs Nurse J to administer another 2 mg of hydromorphone IVP and an additional 5 mg of diazepam IVP. The physician’s goal is for the patient to achieve skeletal muscle relaxation from the diazepam, which will aid in the manual manipulation, relocation, and alignment of Mr. B’s hip. The hydromorphone IVP was administered to achieve pain control and sedation. After reviewing the patient’s medical history, Dr. T notes that the patient’s weight and current regular use of oxycodone appear to be making it more difficult to sedate Mr. B.

Finally, at 4:25 p.m., the patient appears to be sedated, and the successful reduction of his (L) hip takes place. The patient appears to have tolerated the procedure and remains sedated. He is not currently on any supplemental oxygen. The procedure concludes at 4:30 p.m.,and Mr. B is resting without indications of discomfort and distress. At this time, the ED receives an emergency dispatch call alerting the emergency department that the emergency rescue unit paramedics are enroute with a 75-year-old patient in acute respiratory distress. Nurse J places Mr. B on an automatic blood pressure machine programmed to monitor his B/P every five minutes and a pulse oximeter. At this time, Nurse J leaves Mr. B’s room. The nurse allows Mr. B’s son to sit with him as he is being monitored via the blood pressure monitor. At 4:35 p.m., Mr. B’s B/P is 110/62 and his O2 saturation is 92%. He remains without supplemental oxygen and his ECG and respirations are not monitored.

Nurse J and the LPN on duty have received the emergency transport patient. They are also in the process of discharging the other two patients. Meanwhile, the ED lobby has become congested with new incoming patients. At this time, Mr. B’s O2 saturation alarm is heard and shows “low O2 saturation” (currently showing a saturation of 85%). The LPN enters Mr. B’s room briefly, resets the alarm, and repeats the B/P reading.

Nurse J is now fully engaged with the emergency care of the respiratory distress patient, which includes assessments, evaluation, and the ordering of respiratory treatments, CXR, labs, etc.

At 4:43 p.m., Mr. B’s son comes out of the room and informs the nurse that the “monitor is alarming.” When Nurse J enters the room, the blood pressure machine shows Mr. B’s B/P reading is 58/30 and the O2 saturation is 79%. The patient is not breathing and no palpable pulse can be detected.

A STAT CODE is called and the son is escorted to the waiting room. The code team arrives and begins resuscitative efforts. When connected to the cardiac monitor, Mr. B is found to be in ventricular fibrillation. CPR begins immediately by the RN, and Mr. B is intubated. He is defibrillated and reversal agents, IV fluids, and vasopressors are administered. After 30 minutes of interventions, the ECG returns to a normal sinus rhythm with a pulse and a B/P of 110/70. The patient is not breathing on his own and is fully dependent on the ventilator. The patient’s pupils are fixed and dilated. He has no spontaneous movements and does not respond to noxious stimuli. Air transport is called, and upon the family’s wishes, the patient is transferred to a tertiary facility for advanced care.

Seven days later, the receiving hospital informed the rural hospital that EEG’s had determined brain death in Mr. B. The family had requested life-support be removed, and Mr. B subsequently died.

Additional information: The hospital where Mr. B. was originally seen and treated had a moderate sedation/analgesia (“conscious sedation”) policy that requires that the patient remains on continuous B/P, ECG, and pulse oximeter throughout the procedure and until the patient meets specific discharge criteria (i.e., fully awake, VSS, no N/V, and able to void). All practitioners who perform moderate sedation must first successfully complete the hospital’s moderate sedation training module. The training module includes drug selection as well as acceptable dose ranges. Additional (backup) staff was available on the day of the incident. Nurse J had completed the moderate sedation module. Nurse J had current ACLS certification and was an experienced critical care nurse. Nurse J’s prior annual clinical evaluations by the manager demonstrated that the nurse was “meeting requirements.” Nurse J did not have a history of negligent patient care. Sufficient equipment was available and in working order in the ED on this day.

REQUIREMENTS

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A. Explain the general purpose of conducting a root cause analysis (RCA).

1. Explain each of the six steps used to conduct an RCA, as defined by IHI.

2. Apply the RCA process to the scenario to describe the causative and contributing factors that led to the sentinel event outcome.

B. Propose a process improvement plan that would decrease the likelihood of a reoccurrence of the scenario outcome.

1. Discuss how each phase of Lewin’s change theory on the human side of change could be applied to the proposed improvement plan.

C. Explain the general purpose of the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) process.

1. Describe the steps of the FMEA process as defined by IHI.

2. Complete the attached FMEA table by appropriately applying the scales of severity, occurrence, and detection to the process improvement plan proposed in part B. 

Note: You are not expected to carry out the full FMEA.

D. Explain how you would test the interventions from the process improvement plan from part B to improve care.

E. Explain how a professional nurse can competently demonstrate leadership in each of the following areas:

• promoting quality care

• improving patient outcomes

• influencing quality improvement activities

1. Discuss how the involvement of the professional nurse in the RCA and FMEA processes demonstrates leadership qualities.

F. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

G. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

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RUBRIC

 

 

Develop a PICOT question that defines a gap in practice and write a 2–3 page executive summary presenting the key elements that decision makers will need to make decisions.

Note: Complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

It is important to define your ideas clearly and precisely to help develop and sustain stakeholder buy-in with any project being created to improve outcomes. Using a PICOT gives the reader a clear idea of your improvement project in one succinct sentence. Another important communication tool is written for the administrative stakeholders in the form of an executive summary. The executive summary provides a brief and precise narrative of what you want to expedite for your improvement project. Executive summaries are commonly associated with business plans, marketing plans, evaluation studies, and other materials that are created to guide decision making and action. As an actionable document, the executive summary is meant to set out the key elements that a decision maker will need in order to make decisions and, as important, to justify those decisions to those to whom the decision maker is responsible.

Assignment Summary

Develop a PICOT question that defines a gap in practice related to a specific population at the organizational, regional, or national level for care coordination. Write a 2–3 page executive summary (not including the title and reference pages). Include 4–6 scholarly sources on the reference page.

You are encouraged to formulate a PICOT question based on a clinical question from your field of expertise or reflective of a specialization or strong area of career interest.

Grading Criteria

The numbered assignment instructions outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the Defining a Gap in Practice: Executive Summary Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. You may also want to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

1. Analyze clinical priorities for a specific population to effectively influence health outcomes with a care coordination process.
2. Apply a PICOT question to a gap in practice at the organizational, regional, or national level for care coordination.    
   • What is the PICOT question?
   • Provide and explanation of the selected gap.
3. Evaluate the potential services and resources for care coordination that are currently available for use with the selected population.
4. Assess the type of care coordination intervention that would best fit to enhance evidence-based practice.
5. Summarize the selected nursing diagnosis to support the strategy for collaborative care to present to the interprofessional team to develop stakeholder understanding. 
   • Present an assessment of the issue to start the process.
6. Explain the planning of the intervention and expected outcomes you want to achieve for the care coordination process using the scope and standards of practice for care coordination. 
   • What are the planning steps for the intervention?
   • What expected outcomes you want to achieve?
7. Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

The audience for this presentation is an interprofessional team (including people in the care coordination process and leadership who are approving the process). Your objective is to develop stakeholder understanding and acceptance.​​​​

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Write clearly, accurately, and professionally, incorporating sources appropriately.
• APA guidelines: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA Style and Format. When appropriate, use APA-formatted headings.
• Font and font size: Times Roman, 12 point.