Falls Prevention

For this assessment, you will analyze your healthcare process or issue in the context of your practicum site.

· Describe your practicum site.

Practicum Site is Sanford Health’s Neurology and Neurosurgery Center (Neurosurgical Unit).

· What type of institution are your practicum hours taking place in? Sanford Medical Center

· Describe the patient population of your practicum site. Adults with Neurological disorders such as stroke, brain aneurysm, vertebral disc disease, spinal stenosis.

· Estimate how many full-time healthcare staff are employed at your practicum site. Excluding about 51 providers across different specialties, there are about 77 healthcare staff. About 50% of the staff are travel nurses, 30% full-time employees, and 20% PRN staff.

· What kind of nursing or healthcare decisions do you encounter in your practicum site? Are you in a position to make or have input in any of those decisions at your site? Nursing practice at the Neurosurgical unit is centered on specialized neurological assessments such as, Neuro check, NIHSS assessment, and management of High alert medication such as anticoagulants, diuretics, seizures medications. Fall precautions, dysphagia screening, early mobilization, intensive patient and family education and safe transition of care are also vital on the units. As a Registered Nurse, I am in the position where I advocate for patients and family, collaborate with providers, and other interdisciplinary team members to collectively make decisions that benefit patients, family, and the hospital as well.

· What are the primary patient health outcomes for your practicum site? Primary patient health outcomes include functional status measured by NIHSS for stroke patients, reduced mortality and disability following stroke, prevention of secondary complications which include aspiration pneumonia, VTE, prevention of falls, pressure injuries, hospital readmission, as well as seizure management.

· Identify your process issue as it relates to a patient diagnosis and patient outcomes. I identify Fall. The unit has increased falls from quarter 1 to quarter 3 this year. Q1 = 4, Q2, 10, Q3 = 9. Based on this, I selected Prevention of Falls to focus on the project.

· Summarize the healthcare process problem or issue you’ll explore.

· Provide context, data, or information that substantiates the presence of the problem and its significance.

· Analyze your chosen process for impact on the organization and the patient client in terms of quality, safety, and cost.

· What are the causes of the problem? What do you think is the root cause?

· Provide evidence to support your claims.

Scoring Criteria:

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

· Competency 2: Make practicum and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence.

· Describe practicum and operational decisions encountered at the practicum site, including one's input in those decisions.

· Competency 3: Transform processes to improve quality, enhance patient safety, and reduce the cost of care.

· Identify a process issue at a site that relates to a patient diagnosis and patient outcomes.

· Analyze the impact of a current process on an organization and client in terms of quality, safety, and cost.

· Competency 8: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to create effective written and oral communications.

· Describe the practicum setting.

· Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.

· Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.