Running head: Improvement Plan Tool Kit
Improvement Plan Tool Kit This improvement plan tool kit will help nurses to maintain a safe and quality environment for patients by assisting them with resources to decrease risks of medication errors. The tool kit is sectioned into four categories, communication best practices, documentation best practices, individual strategies to improve patient and team safety, and process best practices for reporting and improving medication error occurrences. Each section has three annotated sources providing a summary of the article and why they are an acceptable resource for this topic. Annotated Bibliography Communication Best Practices Prentice, J. C. (2020). Association of open communication and the emotional and behavioural impact of medical error on patients and families: State-wide cross-sectional survey. BMJ Quality & Safety. Retrieved July 1, 2020. . This journal article discusses how healthcare professionals communicate to their patients after a medication error has occurred. It is important for open communication to take place after an error like this occurs so that the patient understands the risks (if any) and what this means for their stay in the facility. It has also been shown that if a medical provider communicates effectively to the patient affected, the patient is more understanding and experienced less of an emotional impact than if no communication occurred. This resourcecan help nurses better implement communication practices if they understand that they are beneficial to the patient as well; if the patient is benefiting, it is essential that the medical staff ensure they are implementing these skills. Nurses can refer to this article when they
Improvement Plan Tool Kit 3 want to learn about what helps patients cope and get through a hospital stay when a medication error has occurred. Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. (2019, August 23). Working to Reduce Medication Errors. -medication-errors. This article by the FDA discusses ways in which medical workers can communicate the dangers of certain drugs, either through labeling or double- checking medication selection with another employee. The labeling of medications also requires the pharmacy to be involved in the medication administration process because most medications should be labeled prior to being released to the nurses. It explains that labeling of drugs and double- checking provide for increased awareness about possible mistakes that could be made, thus decreasing the number of medication errors. Employees can use this article when they have questions about the importance of drug labeling and teamwork when giving medication.
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