Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care
Addressing microsystem problems from the frontline holds promise for quality enhancement. Frontline providers are urged to apply quality improvement; yet no systematic approach to problem detection has been tested. This study investigated a self-report approach to detecting operational failures enco...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2016-01-01
|
| Series: | Nursing Research and Practice |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8416158 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832545573743362048 |
|---|---|
| author | Kathleen R. Stevens Robert L. Ferrer |
| author_facet | Kathleen R. Stevens Robert L. Ferrer |
| author_sort | Kathleen R. Stevens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Addressing microsystem problems from the frontline holds promise for quality enhancement. Frontline providers are urged to apply quality improvement; yet no systematic approach to problem detection has been tested. This study investigated a self-report approach to detecting operational failures encountered during patient care. Methods. Data were collected from 5 medical-surgical units over 4 weeks. Unit staff documented operational failures on a small distinctive Pocket Card. Frequency distributions for the operational failures in each category were calculated for each hospital overall and disaggregated by shift. Rate of operational failures on each unit was also calculated. Results. A total of 160 nurses participated in this study reporting a total of 2,391 operational failures over 429 shifts. Mean number of problems per shift varied from 4.0 to 8.5 problems with equipment/supply problems being the most commonly reported category. Conclusions. Operational failures are common on medical-surgical clinical units. It is feasible for unit staff to record these failures in real time. Many types of failures were recognized by frontline staff. This study provides preliminary evidence that the Pocket Card is a feasible approach to detecting operational failures in real time. Continued research on methodologies to investigate the impact of operational failures is warranted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-513acac5198441c798199084516282f4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-1429 2090-1437 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nursing Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-513acac5198441c798199084516282f42025-02-03T07:25:23ZengWileyNursing Research and Practice2090-14292090-14372016-01-01201610.1155/2016/84161588416158Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing CareKathleen R. Stevens0Robert L. Ferrer1School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USADepartment of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USAAddressing microsystem problems from the frontline holds promise for quality enhancement. Frontline providers are urged to apply quality improvement; yet no systematic approach to problem detection has been tested. This study investigated a self-report approach to detecting operational failures encountered during patient care. Methods. Data were collected from 5 medical-surgical units over 4 weeks. Unit staff documented operational failures on a small distinctive Pocket Card. Frequency distributions for the operational failures in each category were calculated for each hospital overall and disaggregated by shift. Rate of operational failures on each unit was also calculated. Results. A total of 160 nurses participated in this study reporting a total of 2,391 operational failures over 429 shifts. Mean number of problems per shift varied from 4.0 to 8.5 problems with equipment/supply problems being the most commonly reported category. Conclusions. Operational failures are common on medical-surgical clinical units. It is feasible for unit staff to record these failures in real time. Many types of failures were recognized by frontline staff. This study provides preliminary evidence that the Pocket Card is a feasible approach to detecting operational failures in real time. Continued research on methodologies to investigate the impact of operational failures is warranted.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8416158 |
| spellingShingle | Kathleen R. Stevens Robert L. Ferrer Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care Nursing Research and Practice |
| title | Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care |
| title_full | Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care |
| title_fullStr | Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care |
| title_full_unstemmed | Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care |
| title_short | Real-Time Reporting of Small Operational Failures in Nursing Care |
| title_sort | real time reporting of small operational failures in nursing care |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8416158 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kathleenrstevens realtimereportingofsmalloperationalfailuresinnursingcare AT robertlferrer realtimereportingofsmalloperationalfailuresinnursingcare |