Nursing theories are frameworks that allow the nurse to develop a particular attitude toward specific problems and hone the skills necessary to provide quality care. I believe one of the nurse’s most important tasks is ensuring patient safety. This means not only safely conducting physician practices but also preventing possible harm. According to statistics, there are over 200,000 hospital deaths each year in the United States that could have been averted by medical staff (Groves & Bunch, 2018). Such numbers led me to turn to nursing theories related to patient safety. One of them is the middle-range theory of safety enforced through establishing safety culture communication (Groves & Bunch, 2018). After studying it in detail, I began actively applying it to my practice, finding it useful for my work and personally meaningful.
This methodology is focused around linking the goal of patient safety to the culture of the entire healthcare facility. Although many nurses are aware of patient safety needs, the vast amount of routine often overshadows these needs (Groves & Bunch, 2018). This theory allows this need to be revived time after time in workers’ minds through safety primes, special incentives born through a culture of communication on the topic. Protection issues then cease to be a one-time intervention and become part of ongoing patient care.
The usefulness of such an approach lies in two points: in influencing a large number of personnel at once and the possibility of this influence from within. Although such actions should take place at the organizational level, in my opinion, safety culture communication can also be carried out by the nurses themselves. In this way, they create a self-sustaining system, reminding each other of the importance of patient safety. This is the approach that I have implemented in my practice. Besides the fact that it allows me to achieve a vital nursing task effectively, it also enables me to create a unique atmosphere in the workplace. Through constant communication and exchange of impressions, the team grows closer together, which improves the work environment for everyone. Therefore, from my perspective, this theory can be helpful to both patients and nurses by creating a unique communication culture.
Reference
Groves, P. S., & Bunch, J. L. (2018). Priming patient safety: A middle‐range theory of safety goal priming via safety culture communication. Nursing Inquiry, 25(4), e12246. Web.