For this assessment, you will develop a 3-5 page paper that examines a safety quality issue pertaining to medication administration in a health care setting. You will analyze the issue and examine potential evidence-based and best-practice solutions from the literature as well as the role of nurses and other stakeholders in addressing the issue. Health care organizations and professionals strive to create safe environments for patients however, due to the complexity of the health care system, maintaining safety can be a challenge. Since nurses comprise the largest group of health care professionals, a great deal of responsibility falls in the hands of practicing nurses. Quality improvement (QI) measures and safety improvement plans are effective interventions to reduce medical errors and sentinel events such as medication errors, falls, infections, and deaths.

Scenario Consider the hospital-acquired conditions that are not reimbursed under Medicare/Medicaid, some of which are specific safety issues such as infections, falls, medication errors, and other concerns that could have been prevented or alleviated with the use of evidence-based guidelines. Choose a specific condition of interest surrounding a medication administration safety risk and incorporate evidence-based strategies to support communication and ensure safe and effective care. For this assessment: Analyze a current issue or experience in clinical practice surrounding a medication administration safety risk and identify a quality improvement (QI) initiative in the health care setting. Instructions The purpose of this assessment is to better understand the role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in enhancing quality improvement (QI) measures that address a medication administration safety risk. This will be within the specific context of patient safety risks at a health care setting of your choice. You will do this by exploring the professional guidelines and best practices for improving and maintaining patient safety in health care settings from organizations such as QSEN and the IOM. Looking through the lens of these professional best practices to examine the current policies and procedures currently in place at your chosen organization and the impact on safety measures for patients surrounding medication administration, you will consider the role of the nurse in driving quality and safety improvements. You will identify stakeholders in QI improvement and safety measures as well as consider evidence-based strategies to enhance quality of care and promote medication administration safety in the context of your chosen health care setting. Be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you know what is needed for a distinguished score. Explain factors leading to a specific patient-safety risk focusing on medication administration. Explain evidence-based and best-practice solutions to improve patient safety focusing on medication administration and reducing costs. Explain how nurses can help coordinate care to increase patient safety with medication administration and reduce costs. Identify stakeholders with whom nurses would coordinate to drive safety enhancements with medication administration. Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style. Additional Requirements Length of submission: 3-5 pages, plus title and reference pages. Number of references: Cite a minimum of 4 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old. APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style. Portfolio Prompt: Remember to save the final assessment to your ePortfolio so that you may refer to it as you complete the final Capstone course.