Patient Safety in Hospitals Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

Patient safety is one of the primary concerns of the healthcare system. Moreover, it is a significant global public healthcare issue. According to the World Health Organization (2017), one in 300 patients has a chance to be harmed in the process of care. At the same time, only one in a million travelers is at risk of some harm in an aircraft (World Health Organization, 2017). WHO states that one in ten patients is somehow harmed during hospital care in developed countries, which is a worrying statistic.

Healthcare-associated infections make one of the spread factors threatening patient safety, with about 10% of patients developing them (World Health Organization, 2017). Patient safety depends on diverse factors that can be influenced to improve patient outcomes. For example, there is a supposition that models of nursing care organizations can have an impact on patient safety outcomes. Thus, the current paper focuses on the problem of patient safety in hospitals. One of the core points under discussion includes associations between patient safety outcomes and nursing care organizational models.

Impact of Nursing Care Organization Model on Patient Safety

The organization of the nursing staff is among the factors that influence the way the care is provided. The choice of nursing care organizational model determines the further process of care within every healthcare facility. Dubois et al. (2013), in their cross-sectional correlation study, investigate the impacts these models have on patient safety outcomes in hospitals. The study was conducted in 22 medical units of 11 Canadian hospitals.

It included an evaluation of four nursing care organizational models, two of which were functional, and two were professional. The measurements included such negative events as “medication administration errors, falls, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, unjustified restraints, and pressure ulcers” (Dubois et al., 2013, p. 110). The data collection process included the incidence of one or more of these factors in every of the research participants.

Out of 2699 patients, 412 (15.3%) experienced 568 diverse health-related problems during the experiment (Dubois et al., 2013). After the experiment, it was concluded that patients receiving care in the units with functional care models are at higher risk of experiencing one or more of the mentioned negative events than those in the units with professional care models (Dubois et al., 2013). It can be explained by the fact that in professional models, more attention is paid to the work environment and innovation, thus providing nurses with more support in their practice, which results in improved patient outcomes due to better professional performance of nurses.

I believe that proper managerial decisions that are present in professional models of nursing care organization are decisive for patient outcomes. Thus, these models usually involve better-educated staff and provide more support for professional growth. These efforts lead to a higher quality of care and, as a result, improve patient safety outcomes.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, patient safety is a global concern at present. It is investigated worldwide, and the research results are commonly implemented into practice. Thus, the research proves that healthcare facilities should be careful in choosing nursing care models. Its findings show that proper staffing policies and thoughtful management of nursing staff positively influences patient safety outcomes. Further research can be necessary to check this theory in other settings and include it as a recommendation for healthcare facilities on a national or global level.

References

Dubois, C., D’amour, D., Tchouaket, E., Clarke, S., Rivard, M., & Blais, R. (2013). . International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 25(2), 110-117. Web.

World Health Organization. (2017). . Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, October 28). Patient Safety in Hospitals. https://ivypanda.com/essays/patient-safety-issues/

Work Cited

"Patient Safety in Hospitals." IvyPanda, 28 Oct. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/patient-safety-issues/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Patient Safety in Hospitals'. 28 October.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Patient Safety in Hospitals." October 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/patient-safety-issues/.

1. IvyPanda. "Patient Safety in Hospitals." October 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/patient-safety-issues/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Patient Safety in Hospitals." October 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/patient-safety-issues/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1