COLLEGE COMPOSITION

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Running header: PROMOTION OF PATIENT SAFETY

Bessemer Hospital: Promotion of Patient Safety

Student Name

Title of University

CM107

Professor Last Name

Assignment due date

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PROMOTION OF PATIENT SAFETY

MEMORANDUM

To: Dorcas Floyd, RN BSN, MS, CENP

Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer, Bessemer Hospital

From: Student Name and title at job, RN

Date: June 19th, 2017

Subject: Promotion of Patient Safety

As you are aware, patient safety is vital when it comes to quality healthcare service.

Unfortunately, patient errors at Bessemer Hospital have been on the rise, and this has led to a

worsening of serious conditions, disability and even patient mortality. As a result, the credibility

of our infirmary has declined, creating the potential of great financial losses. We can, however,

address this problem by hiring temporary on-call nurses during peak patient hours.

According to a publication by the Institute of Medicine (2004), 98,000 hospitalized American

citizens die annually due to errors made by nurses. This serious problem is usually the result of

either failure to follow management practices necessary for safety, or an unsafe work and

workspace design. This is certainly true here at Bessemer, where recently one newly registered

nurse was hurried into catheterizing a patient in preparation for an operation. This was done

without sufficient supplies or supervision and, because of this, the patient suffered a severe

urinary-tract infection with serious complications and an extended hospital stay. Thankfully the

patient recovered, but even the slightest mistake, caused simply by rushing, can lead to a more

severe problem that must be addressed.

These problems clearly are the result of an increased workload and stress for nurses, but they can

be reduced. Like many hospitals across the region, our nursing staff is low in comparison to the

number of patients served daily, and this creates added stress and increases errors. To address

this issue, we can hire a temporary staff on more difficult days to alleviate this burden. With an

increase in our nurse to patient ratio, we can expect the number of errors to decrease as our full-

time staff will be able to focus on a smaller number of patients and will not have to rush through

procedures and risk errors.

Please contact me at headnurse@bessemerhospital.org if you have any questions about this

recommendation. By implementing this recommendation, you will see a great return on

investment and allow our nurses to take better care of our patients, who are the reason this

hospital exists.

Commented [1]: Notice that the writer provides all the required memo format information. including the receiver’s name and title, as well as a specific subject line.

Commented [2]: Most memos are single spaced.

Commented [3]: By indicating how this problem is affecting the organization, the student writer provides the audience with motivation to make a change and solve the issue

Commented [4]: The writer refers to a resource here to establish the severity of the problem and then identifies how the problem manifests itself in this organization, to show the audience that the problem is real.

Commented [5]: This paragraph focuses on the recommendation. It not only identifies one specific solution but indicates how it will accomplish the goal of reducing the problem. Consider whether you need to demonstrate how you know the solution will work. Is there research evidence to show the solution works or have other similar organizations tried this and it worked? Give your audience reason to implement your recommended solution.

Commented [6]: The writer sums up the memo’s main point and offers to speak further with the audience. This is a clear way of ending a memo effectively.

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PROMOTION OF PATIENT SAFETY

References

Institute of Medicine. (2004). Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of

Nurses. The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10851.