improvement of workplace safety for a hospital’s staff

 improvement of workplace safety for a hospital’s staff

The applicable practice problem relates to the improvement of workplace safety for a hospital’s staff. The safety of employees, including providers and support workers, is integral to the provision of quality care to patients. Essentially, it is not possible to maximize the productivity of healthcare practitioners if they are working in a non-conducive environment (Sokas et al., 2015). It is important to conceptualize healthcare provision as containing numerous inter- and intra-related components if one is to address the issue effectively. Zaccagnini and White (2017) to this approach as systems thinking in healthcare. The system consists of three levels, namely; micro-, meso-, and macro- levels. All of them are complementary.

The micro-system is the foundational level for the system. It entails aspects of healthcare that intersect directly with patients who are the end-users of the service. At this level, the primary focus is the patient. Consequently, regarding the chosen practice problem, the major consideration would how the safety of workers with a hospital improves the quality of care that a patient obtains from that facility. Thus, it highlights how safety equipment like fire extinguishers and the requirement for members of staff to wear non-slip shoes contributes to a safe working environment, which in turn increases the productivity of practitioners; hence, better treatment. As a DNP practice scholar, ameliorating this level might entail conducting an evidence-based study to determine whether measuring the performance of safety policies and protocols helps to promote a culture of safety.

The macro-level is at the apex of the systems thinking approach. According to Zaccagnini and White (2017), the focus of this level is the totality of a healthcare system. It concerns itself with social and structural factors that affect the health of a population. Therefore, it often involves the regulatory aspects of healthcare. Given its inclination towards improving the quality of societal health, the macro-system provides guidelines of factors such as cost efficiency, standards, accessibility, and affordability of care. In this practice problem, this level may manifest itself in the form of the implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) hospital management systems to enhance safety at health facilities across the country — OSHA is a federal agency whose mandate is to guide the implementation of laws aimed at intensifying the working conditions of workers in the nation. A DNP practice scholar may strengthen the contribution of this level to healthcare quality by conducting a study to gauge the extent of adherence to OSHA guidelines on health management systems, as concerns workplace safety.

The three system thinking levels are interdependent. Therefore, the success of one level impacts on that of another level. At each level, various stakeholders have varying responsibilities. For instance, at the micro-system, providers and other staff need to know safety protocols in case of an emergency. In the absence of such knowledge, even the presence of government guidelines for safety improvement may not be useful. Thus, it is evident that each level acts as a building block to the other.

A system thinking approach is crucial in improving the quality of care that patients in a healthcare setting receive. Notably, modern healthcare involves complex, dynamic, and interconnected relationships, which join to form a wholesome system (Clarkson et al., 2018). The systems approach provides a platform to deconstruct the entire arrangement of healthcare. Consequently, it creates a chance to identify relevant stakeholders at each part of the system. Subsequently, it also enables the assigning of responsibilities to each of these stakeholders. Further, it also helps to prioritize issues in the health sector, including areas that require further research. A combination of these factors provides an appropriate environment for the provision of quality care.

References

Clarkson, J., Dean, J., Ward, J., Komashie, A., & Bashford, T. (2018). A systems approach to healthcare: from thinking to ­practice. Future Healthcare Journal, 5(3), 151-155. https://doi.org.10.7861/futurehosp.5-3-151

Sokas, R., Braun, B., Chenven, L., Cloonan, P., Fagan, K., …. & Storey, E. (2015). Frontline Hospital Workers and the Worker Safety/Patient Safety Nexus. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 39(4), 185–192. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4526156/

Zaccagnini, M. E. & White, K. W. (2017). The Doctor of Nursing Practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers