HQS-640 Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Practicum

HQS-640 Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Practicum

Write a journal entry of 750-1,500 words in which you reflect on your practicum experience and answer topic-specific questions according to the following:

• Practicum Activities Reflection: A journal entry offers an opportunity to formulate a reflection regarding practicum activities. Therefore, it is important to include various activities such as meeting with the preceptor, the projects of focus, and observations about leadership made, among other things. The last two weeks have played an important role in helping me refine my area of focus and acquire more knowledge. I collaborated with the preceptor to conduct a comprehensive fall risk assessment by focusing on various aspects such as the patient’s previous fall history, medication use, cognitive function, and mobility status as factors that are known to impact patient falls in the care environment. Such activity is closely aligned with what I have learned in my course regarding the vital role played by a thorough patient assessment in identifying various aspects, such as the risk of falls (Seppala et al.,2021). The last two weeks have also enabled me to explore strategies for educating patients regarding fall prevention strategies, including aspects such as ensuring that the environment is safe and the use of assistive devices, among other approaches. It is important to note that such an aspect is also related to the significance of patient engagement and effective communication in promoting safety, which has been explored in the coursework.

Another aspect is carrying out appropriate environmental audits to help identify potential hazards in various hospital areas, common areas, and rooms. This approach also boosted the knowledge of the critical parts played by environmental modification to help reduce falls. Leadership observations were particularly made by observing activities performed by my preceptor. The preceptor demonstrated strong leadership qualities in various instances. The preceptor modeled best practices in fall prevention and patient care strategies. The preceptor also fostered idea-sharing and open communication among the healthcare staff and promoted a supportive team environment and collaboration. I also observed the preceptor demonstrate problem-solving skills by appropriately addressing concerns and challenges that arose during the period.

• Health Care Quality and Patient Safety: The strategic planning process is an important process that enables an organization to fulfill its mission, vision, and goals. The process has various elements. Among the elements is the mission and vision statement, which entails a succinct definition of the vision and mission. It also involves carrying out various assessments, such as SWOT analysis (Schneller et al.,2023). As part of the process, the leaders also need to set objectives and goals. Other elements include formulation of strategy, creation of implementation plan, monitoring and evaluation, and ensuring that the communication process is effective. The process can benefit both the healthcare organization and the clinical/practicum project in various ways. For example, it can help in resource utilization since the activities can be aligned with the strategic priorities while the project can optimize the use of available equipment and resources. It can also promote stakeholder engagement and buy-in, especially when they are engaged in a strategic planning process. It also offers a framework used to define objectives and mission, hence ensuring that the organization and the project have both direction and focus (Schneller et al.,2023).

• Practicum Project Preparation: It is important to summarize the focus of my practicum project. Therefore, my practicum project deals with the implementation of a fall prevention program utilizing fall prevention bundles in acute hospital settings to prevent patient falls. As such, the goals of the project are to lower the incidence of patient falls and minimize the adverse outcomes associated with patient falls.

The short-term goal is to implement a fall risk assessment for at least two newly admitted patients per day within the first twenty-four hours of admission. The rationale for this goal is that carrying out a risk assessment in time upon patient admission is important for identifying patients who are at risk of falls and subsequent timeous use of preventive measures to prevent falls. Carrying out this activity is key to the achievement of compliance with the requirements of fall prevention.

The long-term goal is to lower the overall fall rate by at least 25% within six months of implementing the fall prevention bundle program. The rationale for this long-term goal is that it aligns with the overarching goal of the fall prevention program. Through these goals, it is possible to assess the effectiveness of the implemented intervention and make appropriate adjustments to help achieve the ultimate goal.

• Evidence: The practicum session has been enriching as various activities have been accomplished. Therefore, it is important to find a current article related to something done in the practicum since the beginning of the course. One of the relevant articles is an article by Dykes et al. (2020). This article focused on assessing the efficacy of a fall-prevention tool kit in reducing falls and injurious falls. One of the strategies used in this research is patient risk of fall assessment. As part of the findings, the researchers found out that the use of the fall-prevention kit was connected to a substantial reduction in falls as well as related injuries. This article is related to my experience in that I have also been able to explore patient risk assessment to find out the possibility of patient falls and take appropriate action.

References

Dykes, P. C., Burns, Z., Adelman, J., Benneyan, J., Bogaisky, M., Carter, E., … & Bates, D. W. (2020). Evaluation of a patient-centered fall-prevention tool kit to reduce falls and injuries: a nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA Network Open, 3(11), e2025889-e2025889. Doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25889

Schneller, E., Abdulsalam, Y., Conway, K., & Eckler, J. (2023). Strategic management of the healthcare supply chain. John Wiley & Sons.

Seppala, L. J., Petrovic, M., Ryg, J., Bahat, G., Topinkova, E., Szczerbińska, K., … & Van der Velde, N. (2021). STOPPFall (screening tool of older persons prescriptions in older adults with high fall risk): a Delphi study by the EuGMS task and finish group on fall-risk-increasing drugs. Age and Ageing, 50(4), 1189-1199. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa249

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Journaling provides a valuable tool for recording, reflecting on, and reviewing your learning. This approach provides an opportunity for you to “connect the dots” and observe the relationships between activities, interactions, and outcomes.

Unlike a personal journal of thoughts and feelings, this clinical/practicum journal is a record of your activities, assessments, and learning related to this academic experience.

Journal entries should include a record of the number of hours spent with your preceptor/mentor each week.

The “Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Clinical/Practicum Journal” template is required for this assignment.

Write a reflective journal entry of 750-1,500 words answering the following:

• Clinical/Practicum Activities Reflection: Provide observations and thoughts on the activities in your clinical/practicum setting since the beginning of the course.
• Health Care Quality and Patient Safety: What are the elements of the strategic planning process? How can this process benefit both health care organizations and your clinical/practicum project?
• Clinical/Practicum Project Preparation: Summarize your clinical/practicum project. Using the S.M.A.R.T. goal format, discuss the short- and long-term goals you have set for this project. Explain your rationale.
• Evidence: Find a current article related to something you have done in your clinical/practicum since the beginning of the course. Relate the article to your experience.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting 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. A link to the?LopesWrite?technical support articles is located in?Class Resources?if you need assistance.