The paper identifies stakeholders related to the project “Prevention of Pressure Ulcer Occurrence at Intermedia Care Patients in Kendall Regional Medical Center”.
Organizational hierarchy
Patients
Patients are the center of care (and research).
CDS Team
Data management and networking.
Physicians
Communication and counseling.
Pharmacists
Prescriptions and administration.
Nurses
Test assistance, education, risk assessment and management, communication.
Roles
Patients
Awareness of the symptoms and timely communication of their concerns (records on preceding admissions can help determine the risk zones) (Lyder & Ayello, 2008).
CDS Team
- Documentation and validation of the workflow changes related to pressure ulcer prevention;
- Determination and validation of data necessary for pressure ulcer management;
- Provision and validation of databases utilized for check-ups;
- Development and implementation of evaluation plans;
- Preparation of preliminary training and communication to encompass a wider shareholder community.
Physicians
- Finalization and acceptance of the alerting strategy;
- Definition of the constraints to prescription and workflow;
- Conveyance of the alert to the co-workers;
- Helping to develop the prevention and implementation plans;
- Rendering constructive advice on managing the alert.
Pharmacists
- Validation of the workflow constituents and identification of gaps;
- Assistance with intervention tests and actualization;
- Educating the co-workers;
- Verification of the drug information;
- Development and use of alerting strategies.
Nurses
- Selection and usage of the risk assessment tools (Braden Scale or Norton Scale) to estimate the physical and mental well-being, mobility, and incontinence rates;
- Tending to the needs of long-term and acute patients;
- Helping with the intervention testing and actualization;
- Educating the patients and co-workers;
- Help in developing and utilization of the implementation plans;
- Conveyance of the process to other nurses;
- Definition of the constraints related to nursing duties (Sullivan, 2013).
Practicum project influence
Patients
Patient-centered research subsumes the patients’ informed consent to participation and compliance with the research procedures (Lyder & Ayello, 2008). The rates of response depend on the patients’ involvement.
CDS Team
Among the duties of the CDS team is contacting the shareholders, holding the initial meetings, developing memoranda, etc. Otherwise, the influence of the CDS is correlated with the roles outlined above. Their input in ground-setting and data analysis is critical for the project.
Physicians
Finalization of the strategies and implementation plans and other roles performed by physicians enables them to engage with a wider community of shareholders and communicate the results and directives for future projects in a public form. The health care resources are allocated in part by physicians, and the account of the health care quality is expected from them as well. The project and its outcomes are evaluated as to the evidence they provide for future practice and the cost-effectiveness of the interventions used. Finally, and within the framework of the project, physicians are responsible for providing the patients with the type and quality of care they demand. Counseling, therefore, is one of the physicians’ place within the project (Portney & Watkins, 2015).
Pharmacists
Pharmacists are responsible for performing patient care-related activities daily. Their role in the maintenance of multidisciplinary patient care is prime. They review the medications, dosage, regimen, administration in a safe and timely manner. As the medications for each pressure ulcer patient will be more or less individualized, pharmacists will indicate the proper prescriptions individually. Apart from the clarification of strategies and usage, they are responsible for the clarity of the prescriptions themselves.
Nurses
Staff turnover makes pressure ulcer prevention more challenging.
The prevention depends on staffing and, more importantly, the bedside time. Patient advocacy and education are an essential component of nursing practice, which reinforces the nurses’ influence on the present project.
References
Lyder, C. H., & Ayello, E. A. (2008). Pressure Ulcers: A Patient Safety Issue. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (n.pag.). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Portney, L. G., & Watkins, M. P (2015). Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to Practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis.
Sullivan, N. (2013). Preventing In-Facility Pressure Ulcers. In Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices (pp. 212-232). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.