Sepsis Case Studies

Patient safety experts have demonstrated that “patient safety increases when teamwork and collaboration skills are taught and empowered; when teamwork and collaboration are not present, medical errors will result” (Creasia & Friberg, 201, p. 348). As a nurse, it is imperative to collaborate with other interdisciplinary members in health care and also strive to research and implement evidence-based practices. Evidence-based practice is necessary to “ensure the highest quality of cost-effective care and the best patient outcomes” (Fineout-Overholt, 2011, para. 16). With a collaborative and innovative attitude on safe health care practices, an increase in patient safety and effectiveness of care will

In the clinical setting, the nurses’ expertise can be used to make clinical assessments and recommendations for routine care at a lower cost than a physician visit. This would increase the number of patients seen and increase the quality of the care provided. The advance practice nurse would be able to hone in on preventative measures and increase patient education. The advance practice nurse can also make recommendations about practice changes needed to facilitate better health outcomes through the use of evidence-based practice. Nursing leaders are aware of how important nursing science is to provide needed evidence to transform practice, even though, finding the time and resources to support any research activity is often challenging (Stone, 2017). As there continues to be an initiative to improve quality healthcare while simultaneously reducing costs, the importance of the nurse with advanced education in transforming healthcare delivery and healthcare policy will continue to grow. Opportunities for nurse managed health clinics, quality nursing research to improve evidence based practice, leadership of multidisciplinary health management teams and change agents in health policy and improved patient outcomes make the nurse with advanced education the “escape fire” in health care now and in the

The feeling of being able to alleviate the suffering of an acutely ill patient is at once incredibly satisfying and immensely humbling. I am constantly in awe of the fact that by coming to work everyday, I have the privilege of helping others who cannot care for themselves. During my time in my Clinical Care Extender Internship, I developed a special interest in caring for the geriatric population and have had the opportunity of serving as a personal caregiver to an elderly woman with dementia. I do not take the trust and confidence that my patient places in me lightly and work hard to advocate and provide for her safety because she deserves no less. Thus, in the interest of patient advocacy, as a nurse in your facility, I will seek to improve the practices that will keep my patients safe and promote their healing. I aim to achieve this goal with the help of your institution by working hard, continually advancing my education, and using evidence-based findings to guide my

In the leadership in care delivery course, we were assigned to a hospital to perform clinical hours and provide care to four patients. Additionally, the purpose of this paper is to explain and provide examples on how our patient care included the concepts of Quality and Safety Education for Nursing (QSEN) competencies, delegation, handoff reporting, and a reflection of the clinical experience.

During my clinical day three, I demonstrated entry-level competence in professional nursing practice in caring for patients with multiple and/or complex unmet human needs. I addressed safety needs, safety in medication administration, effective communication, and surveillance for my patients. First, I addressed safety needs my ensuring the appropriate safety measures were implemented for the patients. Some of the safety measures included, wearing non-skid socks, wearing a yellow armband which indicated fall risk, keeping the bed in lowest position, two side rails up, bed locked, and the call light within reach.

Clostridium difficile infection and transmission prevention continues to represent а difficult and serious challenge in patient safety and infection prevention. A single inpatient Clostridium difficile infection costs more than $35,000 in average and the estimated yearly cost burden for the health care system is more than $3 billion (MedPage Today, 2012). The epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection is continue to change, and its presence in the community and the healthcare settings has caused healthcare personnel continue to re-evaluate approaches and perspectives.

Hospitals frequently enhance their quality of care by improving their best practices. Bedside reporting is a best practice that has numerous benefits including a decrease in the potential for mistakes, increased patient involvement and understanding of their care, increased teamwork among nurses, and an increased accountability of nurses (AHRQ, 2013). A review of the literature was run and showed several studies and literature reviews on bedside reporting. The majority of these articles were conducted on adult medical-surgical

During crisis periods or times of severe symptoms, hospitalization may be necessary to ensure safety, proper nutrition, adequate sleep and basic hygiene.

Sepsis impacts the U.S. healthcare based on its high incidence, mortality rates, financial costs and long-term adverse effects on sepsis survivors. To reduce this impact, the rapid initiation of bundled care based on the SSC can reduce the severity of severe sepsis and septic shock thereby, reducing patient mortality and long term adverse effects.

Department of Health and Human Services established an objective for Healthy People 2020 to prevent HCAIs, this reflects that the U.S. health care system is committed to and serious about solving this issue. These objectives address two extremely important topics, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Also, there are other major causes of HCAIs that Health and Human Services is working on their prevention such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) associated with catheters, infections of surgical wounds and sites, C. difficile infections, and ventilator-associated Pneumonia.

Quality improvement efforts and risk management are complementary, and together are key modules of clinical governance. Risk management reinforces quality management in healthcare. This leads to:

The core information system collects data from various sources and reorganizes it to optimize data presentation and facilitate physician work flow.

The baccalaureate prepared nurse role is crucial in ensuring the successful implementation of quality management in healthcare. The major role of healthcare professionals such as nurses, doctors, and physicians is the delivery of high-quality patient care and safety. However, studies show that some factors that contribute to the low-quality patient care and safety include medical errors, adverse drug events, and negligence of health care providers. The baccalaureate prepared nurse has the responsibility of improving patient outcomes by taking part in quality management processes in the healthcare.

Her medical diagnosis of ARDS from overdosing and pneumonia are the cause of her deteriorating condition. Then, it moves on to the first two primary nursing diagnoses of impaired gas exchange and risk for infection, followed by the lower ranked ones of impaired tissue integrity, anxiety, and finally decrease cardiac output. The case study then explored her expected outcomes, the interventions used for her primary two nursing diagnoses with literature reviews, and finally an evaluation of the plan of care. The learning from this patient is that it is not our place as nurses and medical personnel to judge, but to treat with fairness and compassion. It is easy to look down on this patient for her chronic illnesses that affect her long-term health, but she needs help, and now may never be back to her pre-hospitalized state. The patient is anxious and has a history of mental health issues, and it truly tests you as a nurse to see her fighting the ventilator and being unable to sedate. It is shown just how hard nursing care can be, but in the end it is our job to give competent care and this will be carried out with all future patients. This patient has a long road ahead for recovery, and may still have lasting debilitating effects in the

Within Australia, the ER department has a duty to act when a patient is presented (Atkins, De Lacey, & Britton, 2014, p.41). Accident and emergency departments critically rely on the triage nurses' ability to assess the patients’ needs, to determine allocation, and delivery of time-sensitive emergency care and safety to its community. Internationally, many countries have adopted a standardized assessment instruments for patients presenting to the ER (Hodge, Hugman, Varndell, and Howes, 2013). Since April 2002, Australia has utilised The Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) that assess utility, validity, reliability and safety to categorise a patient's priority for care (Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing, 2009). According to