Reflection on the DNP Project

REFLECTION ON THE DNP PROJECT

Blog: Lessons Learned from Project Implementation and Evaluation

The project sought to address the high incidence of medication errors at the clinical site by implementing a mandatory medication safety education for all clinical staff. The incidence of medication errors at the facility had risen significantly over the past year, resulting in preventable death, injury, and serious reputational concerns. The project pursued two objectives: to reduce the incidence of medication errors by 50 percent and to consequently, increase the patient satisfaction index by 30percent by the end of the project period. Through the project, the clinical staff were educated/trained on the eight rights of medication administration, medication error management, medication sensitivity, dose calculations, and international patient safety guidelines. However, Clarke (2011) asserts that implementing a project is a waste of time if the implementer does not take time to reflect. Hence, this blog is a reflection of the lessons learned from project implementation and evaluation, including the role of leadership in driving change and the lasting impact of the change.

The project is in its seventh week and despite facing challenges such as competition from other engagements and time limitations, all activities are within schedule. The training sessions on medication administration rights, error management, and medication sensitivity have already been completed. The plan is to cover the remaining two topics and begin the final evaluation over the next two weeks. The evaluation will take place in two phases. The first phase will assess how participants’ knowledge and attitudes towards medication errors and medication safety change as a result of the education program. The second phase will compare the incidence of medication errors in the current year against past years to determine whether there has been a notable change. The lasting impact of the project will be a significant reduction in the incidence of medication errors resulting from improved knowledge and attitudes towards medication safety among staff. As a result of the education program, the staff will be more open to reporting medication errors whenever they occur.

One of the crucial lessons learned from implementing the project is that proper risk management is crucial for success. Since the onset, the project team foresaw that despite there being a project plan, there was the risk that some of the staff may not attend all the training sessions since there would always be patients requiring assistance. We also foresaw the risk of the staff showing resistance, especially if they were not adequately involved in the implementation and if they lacked trust in management (Furxhi, 2021).

To minimize both of these risks, the project team selected and engaged change champions from among the staff. The change champions underwent training and one of their key roles was to track the progress of their team members and to guide them whenever they had questions or concerns about what they had learned. The learning materials and recorded training sessions were available online and the change leaders would provide leadership by liaising with the trainers to ensure that the same were always available and accessible. They would also coordinate group activities and ensure that all staff were part of a group, where they would engage in knowledge-sharing with other staff. This way, staff who had to miss some sessions to attend to other engagements remained at par with the rest. To some extent, the champions also helped minimize resistance – their involvement enhanced the staff’s trust and confidence. Since the change leaders were their colleagues, their staff believed that the project protected their needs.

Another crucial lessons learned from the project is the need to involve stakeholders right from the planning phase of a project. For instance, when the implementation plan and objectives were first communicated to the staff, some of them questioned why they were not involved in the project from the planning and design phases. They felt that the project team needed to involve them in identifying the need for the project, selecting the intervention, identifying topics, and even designing the mode of delivery. The project team acknowledged that this may have been necessary to create a sense of ownership among the staff, which would help minimize resistance and also enhance their commitment to project success. The staff were actively involved throughout the implementation through evaluations that were conducted weekly to obtain their ideas, opinions, and recommendations on the education program. However, if another such project arises in the future, I would take time to identify and involve the main stakeholders from the need-identification phase to minimize problems that could arise later on.