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I've been thinking about quitting.
The rabbinical students couldn't wait for the sage's answer. Their mentor had
been asked what he thought were his greatest strength and his greatest
weakness. "My greatest strength?" he paused, "Hmm. I guess it's that I haven't
quit." Then without hesitation he added, "My greatest weakness? Often I feel
like quitting."
I'm no rabbi, but I relate and I bet some of you do too.
On the heels of Nurse Appreciation Week (May 4-10), I want to commend nurses
in hospitals all across our country who stay by the stuff week in and week
out. Who refuse to turn in those resignations they frequently and
understandably draft in their minds.
Doing a good thing almost always requires doing a lot of difficult things.
Nurses do a good thing, and things aren't getting any easier for them. Patient
acuity continues to escalate, as do the expectations from The Joint
Commission. Technology-learning curves are getting steeper and fuses seem to
be running shorter. Nursing shortages persist, along with turf battles between
departments that are supposed to be serving the same patients. This is to say
nothing for caregivers having to chase down missing medications or getting
chewed out by arrogant physicians.
Nurses meet up with more than their fair share of enough-is-enough moments.
Yes, here's to nurses everywhere who rightfully say, "NO MAS!" at the end of a
long shift--then graciously come back for another.
My hat's off to RNs who not only show up for work ("80 percent of the battle,"
says Woody Allen), but also who show up to work--to expend themselves in doing
good with and for others.
At the end of April, I had the pleasure of sharing dinner with RN Kathleen
Shinn just before I interviewed her at The unSUMMIT for Bedside Barcoding last
week in Tampa. It was hard enough just being a nurse. Add pregnancy and a
premature birth, shortly followed by the loss of her little Alyssa to an
avoidable medication error, and of course, she felt like quitting. Yet,
somehow Kathleen found grace to forgive the people involved in the error, to
eventually get off the couch and back to her own hospital where she supervises
nurses. Beyond all this, she reaches out and touches clinicians and
administrators across America with a must-hear story.
Though there are still moments when she feels like quitting, her passion prods
her to do what she can to protect others from medication errors and to help
healthcare leaders know what to do with those who commit errors and who are
victims of medication casualties in their institutions. It's a good thing she
does. Not easy, but good. I hope you will take the time to listen to Kathleen
share
Alyssa's Story--then pass it on.
Meanwhile, let's not quit appreciating our nurses.
What do you think?
Mark Neuenschwander a.k.a. Noosh
mark@hospitalrx.com
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Now for some news...
- Impact of the Current Economy on Pharmacy Services in Hospitals and
Health Systems
A Survey by the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers
ASHP Survey
- Hidden Malpractice Dangers in EMRs
One of the highly-touted benefits of electronic medical records (EMRs) is
the potential to help prevent malpractice incidents and medical errors.
While the benefits of EMRs are far greater than the cons, no road is without
stumbling blocks. A physician who is not careful when using the EMR could
increase his malpractice liability.
Medscape.com
- MedDISPENSE Improves Software Analytics with Pandora Data Systems'
Product
MedDISPENSE, provider of automated medication dispensing cabinets, has
formed a new partnership with Pandora Data Systems for utilization of their
data analysis and trending tools.
Business Wire
- Neoteric purchased by Haemonetics
Apr 23, 2009 -- Haemonetics, a blood management solutions company, has
acquired Neoteric Technology, a medical information management company.
TradingMarkets.com
- Hospital patient mishaps top 300 in Massachusetts
More than 300 Massachusetts hospital patients last year suffered perilous
falls, got the wrong medication, or had medical instruments left inside
them, according to a report released yesterday by state health officials.
The study - the most detailed portrait of its kind in Massachusetts -
tallies episodes at every hospital, with the number ranging from none to 25
per institution. Many are deemed preventable.
Boston Globe
- Pittsburgh's New Children's Hospital is a pioneer in paperless
Wall-mounted flat-screen monitors glow in intensive care units, graphically
representing each patient's blood pressure, medications, breathing, pulse
and other vitals. Nurses control computers on wheeled carts, recording
patients' symptoms in a database. With a bar-code scanner, similar to a
grocery store clerk's, they match a code on each patient's wristband to
their medication. Doctors type up prescriptions on laptops and
electronically send requests to the pharmacy, through a system that
cross-checks for allergies and correct dosages. This is the paperless
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
pointofcareforum.com
- Fatal outcome after inadvertent injection of topical EPINEPHrine
Problem: A patient in Canada recently died after receiving an injection of
epinephrine 1:1,000 from a syringe that a surgical nurse and surgeon thought
contained a local anesthetic. Staff at the hospital where the event happened
worked collaboratively with ISMP Canada to issue a country-wide bulletin to
draw attention to the tragic event and encourage a call to action for all
hospitals to prevent similar errors. ISMP Canada has allowed us to share the
information which appeared in the March 5, 2009 issue of the ISMP Canada
Safety Bulletin, with US hospitals, because a similar event could happen
here.
ISMP
- Adoption of health information technology for medication safety in
U.S. Hospitals, 2006
Health information technology (IT) is regarded as an essential tool to
improve patient safety, and a range of initiatives to address patient safety
are under way. Using data from a comprehensive, national survey from HIMSS
Analytics, we analyzed the extent of health IT adoption for medication
safety in U.S. hospitals in 2006. Our findings indicate wide variation in
health IT adoption by type of technology and geographic location. Hospital
size, ownership, teaching status, system membership, payer mix, and
accreditation status are associated with health IT adoption, although these
relationships differ by type of technology. Hospitals in states with patient
safety initiatives have greater adoption rates. According to the study, a
quarter of US hospitals have no information technology applications for
medication safety.
HealthAffairs.org
- IT can help avoid errors, Quaid tells HIMSS audience
Health information technology has its place in reducing medical errors,
according to medical professionals and safety advocates speaking at the 2009
Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society conference in Chicago.
The Healthcare Blog
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