Attending the Telluride Experience is important to me because I want to help make patient safety a priority in healthcare! As a nurse and a nurse practitioner student I am uniquely positioned to advocate for and make changes that will directly impact the patients and their families that I serve. This week in Napa will help me understand how to provide safer care and provide me with the tools needed to encourage others to join me on my journey of safer care.
Ten years ago, I lost my father to his fight with diabetes and that event changed my life forever. My dad received horrible care in the very emergency department that I work in, which makes providing safe care a personal goal for me. My father’s death is attributed to less than stellar care and that has inspired to do better for my patients. I believe that if we put the patient and his or her family at the center of our decision-making process patients will have better outcomes.
As a nurse I want to think that hospitals and healthcare facilities are safe, but its not the building or the equipment, it is the person behind who really makes the difference. I know all too well that providers are not created equal, I want to make sure that I set myself apart by providing quality care. As I prepared for the trip, I kept thinking about experiences I have witnessed that could have been included in the book Wall of Silence. Too many times errors are made that could have and should have been prevented.
Patient safety is integral to good patient care because safety should be at the core of quality care. As providers we need to focus on delivering the best care possible, which means focusing on safety. Each time we encounter a patient we need to be thinking “Is this what I would do if the patient was my family member”. When I work, I find I give better care when I make it personal and that question helps to focus me.
Furthermore, I work closely with victims of violence through my work as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). This specific population is extremely vulnerable to errors due to a lack of communication among interdisciplinary teams. I worry that many times theses patients just fall through the cracks. While I am here, I hope to learn more about working with other team members to ensure that patients are treated appropriately and have needed follow up care.
I am looking forward to great week in Napa where I will learn a lot that I can take back home with me.
