Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan

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For this assessment, you will use a supplied template to conduct a root-cause analysis of a quality or safety issue in a health care setting of your choice and outline a plan to address the issue.

As patient safety concerns continue to be addressed in the health care settings, nurses can play an active role in implementing safety improvement measures and plans. Often root-cause analyses are conducted and safety improvement plans are created to address sentinel or adverse events such as medication errors, patient falls, wrong-site surgery events, and hospital-acquired infections. Performing a root-cause analysis offers a systematic approach for identifying causes of problems, including process and system-check failures. Once the causes of failures have been determined, a safety improvement plan can be developed to prevent recurrences. The baccalaureate nurse’s role as a leader is to create safety improvement plans as well as disseminate vital information to staff nurses and other health care professionals to protect patients and improve outcomes.

DEMONSTRATION OF PROFICIENCY

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

  • Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative.
    • Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address a safety issue or sentinel event.
    • Create a feasible, evidence-based safety improvement plan.
  • Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks.
    • Analyze the root cause of a patient safety issue or a specific sentinel event within an organization.
  • Competency 3: Identify organizational interventions to promote patient safety.
    • Identify existing organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve a plan.
  • Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care.
    • Communicate in writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.

Use the Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan Template [DOCX] to help you to stay organized and concise.

Additionally, be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so you understand what is needed for a distinguished score.

  • Analyze the root cause of a patient safety issue or a specific sentinel event in an organization.
  • Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address the safety issue or sentinel event.
  • Identify organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve your plan.
  • Create a feasible, evidence-based safety improvement plan.
  • Communicate in writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Length of submission: Use the provided template to create a 4–6 page root cause analysis and safety improvement plan. A title page is not required but you must include a reference list as per the template.
  • Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.
  • APA formatting: Format references and citations according to current APA style.