It's always something: hospital nurses managing risk.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Hospital staff nurses play a critical role in maintaining patient safety.
• Understanding the processes nurses use to ensure safety is essential for improving healthcare quality.
• Existing research often focuses on system-level safety rather than bedside nursing practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the process by which hospital staff nurses maintain patient safety within their hospital's safety culture.
• To develop a grounded theory explaining how nurses manage risks to prevent patient harm.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study utilizing grounded theory.
• Data collected from hospital staff nurses describing their patient safety practices.

Main Results:

• A grounded theory of "Managing Risk" was developed.
• Nurses perceive patients as being at constant risk, necessitating a continuous process of risk management.
• The process involves stages of risk assessment, recognition, prioritization, and protective interventions.

Conclusions:

• The "Managing Risk" theory provides a framework for nurses to understand and articulate their role in patient safety.
• Further research is needed to examine the impact of safety culture on nursing practice and inform targeted interventions.
• This theory can guide improvements in bedside nursing practices to enhance patient safety outcomes.