CHANGE PROJECT AT SENTINEL VIRTUAL HOSPITAL
Change and change management is inevitable in the health setting due to the evolving health care system and the diversity of the patient’s needs. This requires health professionals to involve the patients in planning care actively and use evidence-based approaches in implementing quality and safe quality improvement initiatives. Addressing change in the health setting requires managers to use a collaborative approach to ensure an effective transition. The change project that I will address in this assignment, and recommended by my mentor is falls in the medical-surgical unit. The incidence of falls in the hospital setting is one of the hospital-acquired conditions with few preventive initiatives. It is estimated that 3-5 patients in every 1000 bed-days experience fall, which amounts to 700 000 to one million patients fall occur each year in the U.S (Tzeng, & Yin, 2018). Therefore, there is a need to establish a change program aimed at successfully preventing falls in the health care setting.
Overview of the practice learning site
The practice learning site where the virtual hospital change project would be implemented is at Cooperstown, specifically in Bassett Medical Center (BMC). The Bassett medical center is selected because it provides an acute care inpatient teaching facility. Basset provides 24-hour trauma and emergency care, comprehensive cancer care, dialysis, and other Med-Surg specialties in which most of these patients are prone to falls. The medical center has a 180-bed capacity for acute inpatient care, and the project is based in the medical-surgical unit. The identified issues in the practice site that predispose patients to falls are all human factors which include their unwillingness to seek help, and staffing (Health Research & Educational Trust, 2017). The hospital consists of various departmental doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and undergraduates of different faculties who facilitate the implementation of patient-centered care intending to improve patient safety and health outcomes. It also consists of a research institute that will facilitate the implementation of evidence and research-supported health initiatives.
Choosing a mentor
My chosen mentor for the change projects is Jennifer Kubis, who is a nurse manager in the inpatient medical unit. She is an RN-BSN and owns a certificate on nursing leadership and management. She is proficient in patient safety, quality management, nurse leadership, and medical-surgical specialization. She is the nurse manager in Bassett medical unit.
The rationale for selecting the mentor
Nurse managers should be equipped with competent decision-making, communication, clinical reasoning, and critical thinking skills (Sibiya, 2018). I get my inspirations from her, and with adequate guidance from her, I will be able to implement the suggested initiatives on preventing patient falls with the help of the hospital management team. With her effective communication skills and decision-making, educating the patients and involving other staff members will be more comfortable. I believe that we will be able to implement the change project successfully with adequate support from her and other registered nurses in the subcommittee team.
Learning objectives
Integrating my change project in the health care setting requires me to attain the set objectives within the provided time frame. My broad goal is, By the end of the change project, I will be able to address the fall issues in the medical-surgical department and develop preventive measures that can be easily integrated into the health system within two months. This will be successfully implemented when good communication and team collaboration with the staff and subcommittee members is fostered.
The first learning objective is to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of the underlying causal factors of patient falls in the medical-surgical unit within the first week of continuous and effective assessment (Sibiya, M., N. (2018). I would allocate the team members into subgroups with the staff members and interact with patients to understand their concerns and experiences.
The second objective to acquire the support of the hospital management team and health professional within two weeks. I plan to achieve this objective by presenting a quality assessment report on the underlying factor and evidence of the number of incidences in the unit and the suggestion of the implementation plan.
The third objective is to conduct a subcommittee meeting to identify appropriate steps for addressing patient falls in the organization. The organization offers an excellent research center, and incorporation of suggestions from different team members and nurse managers will increase accountability and responsibility in the project’s implementation.
The fourth learning objective is to conduct a training session for the nurses in the medical-surgical unit on the identified measures effective in preventing falls. The identified issue is the patients’ inability to seek help from the nurses, and this will be addressed by training nurses on effective communication and rapport building with patients.
The fifth objective is to be able to implement the change project by 5th week of practice with the help of the shift nurses and subcommittee team. This will involve using videos to educate patients and face to face communications on ways of seeking help. Alarms should be installed on patient beds for easy communication. It is also essential to introduce patient-friendly initiatives; that is, the patients can easily adapt to its use to reduce unnecessary movements.
Finally, it is to be able to address any arising concerns and integrate the change in other health care units where a patient falls is a concern within the two months of practice. Patient falls are a significant concern among the elderly and patients with mental illnesses and head injuries (Janken, Reynolds, & Swiech, 2016). Therefore, it is important to ensure fall preventive measures are adequately implemented in the respective departments. Besides, team collaboration and effective communication are key in successfully implementing the change project.
References
Health Research & Educational Trust. (2017, October). Preventing patient falls A systematic approach from the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare project. Chicago, IL: Health Research & Educational Trust. Accessed at www.hpoe.org
Janken, J. K., Reynolds, B. A., & Swiech, K. (2016). Patient falls in the acute care setting: identifying risk factors. Nursing Research, 35(4), 215-219. Retrieved from: https://europepmc.org/article/med/3636820
Sibiya, M., N. (2018). Effective Communication in Nursing, Nursing, Nilgun Ulutasdemir, Intech Open, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.74995. Available from: https://www.intechopen.com/books/nursing/effective-communication-in-nursing
Tzeng, H. M., & Yin, C. Y. (2018). Toileting-related inpatient falls in adult acute care settings. MedSurg Nursing, 21(6), 372. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ca54/6d06dfdf0a71bf8454aeb29b5d5c2584e1f1.pdf