J Nurs Care Qual
Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 147–152
Copyright
c 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Analysis of Staff Safety
Concerns
Judy Davidson, DNP, RN, FCCM;
Gena Lamontagne, BSN, RN; Lori Burnell, PhD, RN;
Nancy Saks, PhD, RN; Marlys Vespe, MSN, RN;
Diane Schloeder, BSN, RN, CPHQ, FABC;
Tracy Layne, MSN, RN, CCRN
The purpose of this project was to translate safety concerns extracted from written survey com-
ments into actionable items. This project then served as the catalyst for resolving a number of
significant safety issues in a performance improvement model and helped to create a reliable and
efficient process for future thematic reviews Keywords: equipment, handoffs, nursing, patient
safety, performance improvement, surveys
T
HE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE’s 2010 re-
port, “The Future of Nursing: Leading
Change, Advancing Health,” underscores the
importance of nurses’ expanded role in im-
proving patient safety.
1
Those working at the
point of care provide unique and relevant in-
sights for improving care, creating a more
patient-centered focus in the delivery of care,
and ultimately improving safety and satisfac-
tion for both patients and employees.
2
A com-
prehensive systems approach to promoting
a climate of safety, including taking into ac-
count workplace organizational factors and
physical and psychological hazards for work-
ers, is suggested in the literature.
3
Author Affiliations: Research Integration and
Management (Dr Davidson), Learning and
Development (Dr Saks), and Center for Learning
and Innovation (Ms Layne), Scripps Health, La Jolla;
Scripps Mercy Hospital, La Jolla (Dr Burnell and Mss
Grommesch and Schloeder); and Scripps Mercy
Hospital, Chula Vista (Ms Vespe), California.
The authors have no conflicts or disclosures to report.
Correspondence: Judy Davidson, DNP, RN, FCCM, Re-
search Integration and Management, Scripps Health,
1025 N Torrey Pines Road, Suite 200, La Jolla, CA 92037
(davidson.judy@scrippshealth.org).
Accepted for publication: October 8, 2012.
Published online before print: November 19, 2012
DOI: 10.1097/NCQ.0b013e318277e874
Engaging frontline staff in transformation
of care influences participants’ perception of
empowerment and commitment to the or-
ganization. Health care organizations benefit
from incorporating information from those
closest to patients into change. To create a
hospital culture supportive of safety, hospital
leaders engage staff to foster an environment
of empowerment, accountability and a sense
of ownership of patient outcomes.
4
This hard
work to achieve a culture focused on safety is
offset by improvement in patient outcomes.
5
Many institutions use employee surveys as
a means of gathering data on the safety of the
environment of care and perceptions of the
culture that exists within their organization.
Some surveys allow staff to submit free text
comments about their issues of concern. This
important information typically remains idle
for lack of an efficient and effective means of
analyzing this potentially rich data source. On
the basis of the importance of gathering data
from frontline staff, the authors used 3 sur-
veys to establish common themes regarding
workplace safety.
Purpose
Results from the organization’s Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Copyright © 2013 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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