Nurse Advocacy for Patient Safety and Care Quality

The Nurse Advocate's Role in Patient Safety and Care Quality

The present times are challenging for healthcare workers. Exceptional healthcare system alterations — in the form of financial pressures, regulatory mandates for improving patient safety and care quality, uncertainty about the direction of healthcare reforms, technological advances, changes in patient population, and emerging workforce deficiencies — are affecting care in every practice setting. These changes may prove challenging to decisions pertaining to resource allocation, and may negatively affect the work environment in the health sector (Chiarella & McInnes, 2008).

This paper deals with the role of the nurse as a patient advocate in relation to regulatory agency mandates aimed at improving patient safety and care quality. The nurse advocate's responsibilities in this context include: presenting to patients the hospital's patient rights code; distributing the patient rights manual; confirming patient understanding regarding who should be approached with concerns or queries; preventing complaints through consultation with managers and supervisors who observe an emerging issue; proposing potential solutions to complaints that may arise; changing practices that cause frequent complaints; hearing complaints from patients and their families and documenting them, as well as determining what solution is sought; resolving complaints by listening to clients and families; guiding them to supervisors or physicians and assisting them in presenting facts; formulating satisfactory resolutions and ensuring follow-up; alerting the hospital administrator and legal department through documentation of unresolved complaints and possible legal actions; improving quality outcomes through analyzing, evaluating, and restructuring patient complaint systems and applying changes; serving and protecting the health service community by adhering to professional standards and local, state, and federal requirements as well as hospital procedures and policies; and enhancing hospital reputation and patient advocacy by taking ownership of novel and varied requests and seeking opportunities to add value to workplace activities (Tomajan, 2012; Chiarella & McInnes, 2008).

Negative Outcomes When Advocacy Is Neglected

Roughly 1.5 million patients in the United States suffer adverse effects from medication errors per year, costing an additional approximately 3.5 billion dollars to the U.S. health system, according to Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates. The Mayo Clinic notes that such errors are primarily communication errors, whether between provider and patient, pharmacist and provider, or patient and pharmacist. The occurrence of these adverse events can be reduced through adaptations and innovations — such as electronic tools — as well as enhanced patient safety measures (Almidei, 2010).

Clinicians cannot treat patients if they are themselves unwell due to compromised hospital quality and unmonitored patient safety. Guaranteeing the safety of both patients and hospital staff is imperative, and this encompasses both the psychological and physical safety of the workforce. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports, health settings and hospitals are among the country's most hazardous workplaces, with high injury rates — including musculoskeletal injuries and needlestick injuries (Almidei, 2010).

Healthcare workers face immense pressures and are also exposed to misconduct, disrespect, disruptive behaviors, and violence far too often. These issues directly affect patient safety, as health workers can only deliver their best care when they themselves are assured of both psychological and physical safety (Tomajan, 2012).