It is no secret that hospitals can be dangerous places. The Institute of Medicine first made us aware of this issue nearly two decades ago in a landmark report that estimated that about 98,000 people died annually in hospitals due to preventable medical errors. More recent estimates indicate that the number could be as high as 440,000 preventable adverse events leading to death occur in U.S. hospitals each year (James, 2013). In fact, medical errors rank behind heart disease and cancer as the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
Some hospitals have improved, and some infection rates have gone down. But the gains are spotty. Overall we have made little progress in making our healthcare system safer.
Nurses, this is a call to action for us. Of all healthcare providers, nurses have the greatest role in preventing errors and improving patient safety (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008).
Medication errors. Falls. Infections. Pressure ulcers. Peri-operative errors. None of us go to work intending to harm our patients, yet it happens in our hospitals every day.
There are a lot of us - nearly 4 million nurses in the U.S. alone. Collectively we are powerful - look what happens when a Washington State Senator accuses us of sitting around and playing cards. Or when a talk show host mocks us for having stethoscopes.
Where is that collective voice when it comes to improving patient safety?
Over time, this blog will explore issues around patient safety, with a specific call to action for nurses to act on the information we learn together. I hope you will join me for this journey.
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