The 1999 landmark study titled “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System” highlighted the unacceptably high incidence of U.S. medical errors and put forth recommendations to improve patient safety. Since its publication, the recommendations in “To Err Is Human’ have guided significant changes in nursing practice in the United States.

In this Discussion, you will review these recommendations and consider the role of health information technology in helping address concerns presented in the report.

To prepare:

• Review the summary of “To Err Is Human” presented in the Plawecki and Amrhein article found in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Consider the following statement:

“The most significant barrier to improving patient safety identified in “To Err Is Human” is a “lack of awareness of the extent to which errors occur daily in all health care settings and organizations (Wakefield, 2008).”

• Review “The Quality Chasm Series: Implications for Nursing” focusing on Table 3: “Simple Rules for the 21st Century Health Care System.” Consider your current organization or one with which you are familiar. Reflect on one of the rules where the “current rule” is still in operation in the organization and consider another instance in which the organization has effectively transitioned to the new rule.Post your thoughts on how the development of information technology has helped address the concerns about patient safety raised in the “To Err Is Human” report. Summarize how informatics has assisted in improving health care safety in your organization and areas where growth is still needed.

Rate yourself using the results from the “Nurse Manager Skills Inventory”:

http://www.aone.org/resources/nurse-manager-skills-inventory.pdf

Write a reflection of 750-1,000 words in which you identify your strengths and weaknesses related to the four content areas below:

1. Personal and professional accountability
2. Career planning
3. Personal journey disciplines
4. Reflective practice reference behaviors/tenets

Discuss how you will use your current leadership skill set to advocate for change in your workplace.

Identify one personal goal for your leadership growth and discuss your implementation plan to achieve that goal.

While APA format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

RUBRIC:

Identification of strengths and weaknesses related to the four content areas listed.

Lists and analyzes strengths and weaknesses based on each of the listed content areas, and draws on evidence from the given Web site.

Discussion of use of current leadership skills to advocate change in the workplace.

Discusses specific changes that can be made in the workplace are discussed, while giving clear and relevant examples for why changes are necessary. Evaluates how personal skill set can be used to effect change in workplace.

Reflection on personal goal for leadership growth and development of implementation plan to reach goal.

Provides a thoughtful reflection on areas for growth. Pinpoints at least one specific goal for leadership growth, and outlines a well-organized and realistic implementation plan to meet the goal.

Thesis Development and Purpose

Thesis and/or main claim are comprehensive; contained within the thesis is the essence of the paper. Thesis statement makes the purpose of the paper clear.

Paragraph Development and Transitions

There is a sophisticated construction of paragraphs and transitions. Ideas progress and relate to each other. Paragraph and transition construction guide the reader. Paragraph structure is seamless.

Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)

Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.

Paper Format (1- inch margins; 12-point-font; double-spaced; Times New Roman, Arial, or Courier)

All format elements are correct.

Research Citations (In-text citations for paraphrasing and direct quotes, and reference page listing and formatting, as appropriate to assignment)

In-text citations and a reference page are complete. The documentation of cited sources is free of error.

 

Select an ethnic minority group that is represented in the United States (American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian American, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander). Using health information available from Healthy People, the CDC, and other relevant government websites, analyze the health status for this group.

In a paper of 1,000-1,250 words, compare and contrast the health status of your selected minority group to the national average. Include the following:

1. Describe the ethnic minority group selected. Describe the current health status of this group. How do race and ethnicity influence health for this group?
2. What are the health disparities that exist for this group? What are the nutritional challenges for this group?
3. Discuss the barriers to health for this group resulting from culture, socioeconomics, education, and sociopolitical factors.
4. What health promotion activities are often practiced by this group?  
5. Describe at least one approach using the three levels of health promotion prevention (primary, secondary, and tertiary) that is likely to be the most effective in a care plan given the unique needs of the minority group you have selected. Provide an explanation of why it might be the most effective choice.
6. What cultural beliefs or practices must be considered when creating a care plan? What cultural theory or model would be best to support culturally competent health promotion for this population? Why?

Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and public health content.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. 

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Comment 1

My executive summary will be on change of shift admissions and effects on patient care. Change of shift is a vulnerable time for both patients and nurses. During change of shift, critical informatin regarding patients is communicated to the on-coming nurse and ancillary staff. Interuptions during hand-off, including admissions and transfers may hinder the integrity of communication between nurses and delay the completion of critical patient-centered tasks. I would like to create a policy to decrease the flow of traffic during critical shift change times between the hours of 7:15am-8:15am and 7:15pm-8:15pm.

Comment 2

I would like to describe differing approaches of nursing leaders and managers to issues in practice when discussing nurse-staffing ratios. This is a big issue in the country because aside from California, legally mandated nurse-staffing ratios do not exist. When it is discussed in the hospital now, nursing supervisors discourage it by telling nurses that it is not all it’s cracked up to be. Some hospitals can go under due to the need to staff appropriately. When talking to a nurse who has worked under both situations, she has said that the cost of healthcare ends up declining in a good way because nurses are making less overworked mistakes and patient-satisfaction is up. This can be the big difference between managers and leaders in the big picture of things. Managers will listen to nursing complaints of being overworked beyond safe circumstances and the manager will simply say, “this is what you signed up for when you became a nurse,” like we’re soldiers complaining about being shot at when we chose to be a soldier. We signed up for nursing to care for patients and participate in the optimization of their help. Leaders will listen to nursing complaints and ask themselves what can they do to help. At the end of the day, if more people were leaders, nursing shortages may not exist. Nurses would be happier and stay in their positions longer.  

JA

 

Topic 2: Disaster Management

Contact your local public health department to learn about its role in a local disaster, including the role of the nurses who work there.
I called the ……… county health department and spoke with a Mr. ………… He explained to me that he has a list of local nurses that he sends out an email to in order to ask for assistance when there is a need. Currently he is working out at the panhandle and stated that he does have a few volunteers from here who are helping to wrap things up at some of the shelters from the last hurricane. It’s nice that all the countries that have help available come in and help when there is a need. He said that sometimes they need nurses to help with flu shots and such and so he sends out an email and if you are available you just show up. He asked me if I knew anything about the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). I had only just read about it in our material this week. As you guys may already know the MRC is a government organization comprised of a large network of volunteers that come together to improve the welfare and safety of a community (HHS, 2016). Mr. ………asked if I was interested in being a part of it. 

Would you be a good candidate to serve on a disaster team?
I do believe that I have something to offer the community, we all do. According to the information that Mr. …….. gave me, I have the opportunity to decline when I am needed if I have other obligations. So of course my job and my family come 1st. I did sign up to be part of the e-mailing group and Mr. ……. will be forwarding my information to another colleague in order to set up membership to the MRC.
Would your current employer be flexible in allowing you to participate in a disaster situation?
I am already part of the disaster team for work, so they would take priority. If I were PRN, I am sure they would be accommodating, but I am a full time staff member, and since being part of the MRC is voluntary, they would not be a priority for me at this time.
What is your personal preparedness to face a disaster?
We have a hurricane/disaster box prepared that has everything needed to help sustain us for 1 week. I have lived in FL for so long that I grew up with a family plan and so I carry that with me now that I have my own family. I have only ever evacuated once and having our preparedness box made that process a lot less stressful.