Quality care services can be enhanced through the effective formulation and implementation of nursing competencies. Some of these competencies include good interpersonal relations, accountability, high levels of hygiene, long-life learning, and caring. There exist issues that may undermine the implementation of these competencies by medical providers. For instance, failure to observe proper hand hygiene can hinder the ability of medical practitioners to offer caring and safe services to patients. As such, healthcare providers need to understand the essence of this neglected practice and correct the undermined adherence to the required competencies. The paper assesses the lack of proper hand hygiene and how it relates to Joint Commission National safety goals, a real case scenario, literature with points of view, and a hand hygiene targeted solution tool.
How Hand Hygiene Relates to Joint Commission National Safety Goals
Some nurses within the healthcare facility fail to perform hand hygiene as required due to their busy schedule, wearing gloves, and claiming not to have touched patients. In this case, the situation can significantly increase the prevalence of healthcare-acquired infections. Failure to observe the practice undermines the implementation of some of the nursing competencies. In the long-run, failure by medical providers to observe proper hand hygiene leads to poor service delivery. According to Joint Commission National safety goals, the wellbeing of the patient is paramount in the healthcare sector. In this case, it provides that washing hands is one of the ways of ensuring safety by curbing inter-hospital infections in the healthcare facility (JCCTH, n.d). Therefore, medical providers are required to adhere to the goal of enhancing the safety of patients by observing proper hand hygiene as a way of curbing the spread of inter-hospital infections.
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Hand Hygiene Case Scenario
When I was in clinical, there was a scenario where almost all inpatients were experiencing muscle pain, malaise, vomiting, nausea, loose diarrhea, and low-grade fever. It is not common because, on admission, they were diagnosed with various medical conditions with different symptoms. Also, it was clear that the conditions were highly contagious. This scenario triggered questions about what might have caused the situation. All patients were instructed to give a stool sample. After that, we contacted stool tests, and it was confirmed that all of them were suffering from norovirus. The condition is mainly caused by the failure to obverse proper hand hygiene. It was determined that most of the medical providers at the facility were busy, and, therefore, they did not have sufficient time to gel in or out. In this case, the spread of the medical condition can be attributed to a lack of proper hand hygiene because when they were going in to talk to patients, they would not sanitize their hands. Probably, the virus was moved by infected hands from one patient to the other.
Literature Review and Points of View on Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene is considered one of the strategies of ensuring safety for patients in the healthcare sector. Medical providers should understand the essence of the practice as a way of fostering proper nursing. Various sources support the importance of washing hands in the healthcare sector. According to The Joint Commission (2015), hand hygiene is considered a cornerstone in curbing infections. It does this by preventing the spread of disease-causing microorganisms from one person to the other. Lack of proper hand hygiene is a major challenge in many healthcare settings all over the world (The Joint Commission, 2015). It is pointed out as the main reason why the prevalence of infectious diseases is so high in some parts of the world, but according to Nurses Christian Fellowship, it can be solved through proper patient safety measures (Koetting, 2016). According to NCQA (2018), hygiene is paramount in any healthcare setting, and hand hygiene is one way of enhancing safety. Therefore, proper hand hygiene is considered as a recommendable strategy is curbing these infections and improving safety for all patients in a healthcare facility.
JCCTH (n.d.) asserts that hand hygiene is the most effective way of handling hospital-acquired infections. In addition to this, it is cost effective and can be easily implemented with the right knowledge. It is essential to adopt in a healthcare facility since it is predicted that the number of infections would continue rising due to factors such as population increase and limited facilities. Healthcare practitioners are likely to ignore these practices due to their busy schedules when handling the increasing number of patients. As such, by the year 2050, 10 million people would die annually due to hospital-acquired infections (JCCTH, n.d.). The New York State Nurses Association (n.d.) emphasizes observing the safety of patients as a way of enhancing health in society (NYSNA, n.d.). Thus, hand hygiene should be fully adapted to prevent the spread of microorganisms and related mortality in the future. In the long run, it would enhance the health of the entire society.
The Joint Commission (2009) points out that the overall adherence to hand hygiene in the healthcare sector is unacceptably low. Hence, there is a need to equip society with proper insights, knowledge, and concepts concerning hand hygiene as a way of curbing hospital-acquired infections. Some practitioners do not see the essence of the practices, and the consequences that may occur if they fail to adhere to proper hand hygiene (The Joint Commission, 2009). The National League of Nursing advocates for comprehensive education programs for medical providers concerning the issue of patient safety as a way of improving the quality of care practices (NLN, 2018). Therefore, the state and the federal government in collaboration with the health departments should provide comprehensive education and awareness campaigns regarding proper hand hygiene for a healthy society.
The effects of hand hygiene are widely known by health practitioners by tending to neglect the practice. Masters (2018) holds a view that medical practitioners are not encouraged and motivated to uphold the practice even though they understand it well. The intervention measure can yield ideal results in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections if proper education programs, encouragements, and reminders are affected. Consequently, this will enhance compliance. This perception is in line with the one being held by the American Nurses Association that medical providers in the current society are faced with numerous ethical issues. They range from mild to complex, and they all have an impact on the quality of care services (ANA, n.d.). Similarly, NCQA (2018) holds that emphasis should be placed on education medications on matters of patient safety (Llynne, 2018). Thus, the healthcare sector in collaboration with the state and the federal government should have ideal programs in place to motivate medical practitioners to comply with hand hygiene.
A Plan to Solve the Failure to Observe Hand Hygiene
To address the issue, the healthcare facility can incorporate hand hygiene targeted solution tool. The tool is meant to enhance compliance to hand hygiene and curb hospital-acquired infections. It is web-based and applies a robust process improvement structure and design. The strategy can guide the healthcare facility through all processes aimed at solving the problem. Specifically, it operates systematically, driven by facts and data regarding the safety of patients in the healthcare sector. First, I will start by forming a team comprising all medical providers to address the issue. After that, we will give roles and responsibilities to each member of the team. Then, we will come up with distinct goals and objectives that we wish to achieve as a team. Each of the members will be required to go through the necessary resources materials and acquired vital insights concerning hand hygiene. After that, the initiative will be launched in several areas within the facility. The tool will collect data concerning hospital-acquired infections and possible causes. Data will be organized and later shown to everyone. Progress will be assessed, and every member will have the obligation of encouraging and reminding each other with the phrase "catch" to observe hand hygiene. In this case, everyone will be able to master the routine, and in the process enhance proper hand hygiene. The management tool would involve inspiring medical providers and having proper mechanisms to support the change to ensure hand hygiene. After that, members will share their compliance results and enhance the awareness of the initiative.
Conclusion
Nursing competencies are crucial in any healthcare facility. Hygiene is key in enhancing proper implementation of patient safety measures. Thus, lack of compliance to hand hygiene puts patients at risk of getting hospital-acquired infections. In my experience, I have witnessed a situation where lack of proper hand hygiene led to norovirus, which affected most patients. Ensuring adequate hand hygiene is recommended as a way of enhancing patient safety and a suitable strategy in curbing hospital-acquired infections. A hand hygiene targeted solution tool can be used to foster quality care services. The toll can be used to collect and store data concerning various infections. It will particularly be used to remind medical providers and encourage them to stick to the routine of ensuring that their hands are clean.
References
American Nurses Association (ANA) (n.d.). Nursing Excellence. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/
Joint Commission Centre for Transforming Healthcare (JCCTH) (n.d.). Targeted Solutions Tool Hand Hygiene. Retrieved from https://www.centerfortransforminghealthcare.org/what-we-offer/targeted-solutions-tool/hand-hygiene-tst
Koetting, C. (2016). Trauma-Informed Care. Journal of Christian Nursing, 33(4), 206–213. Retrieved from http://ncf-jcn.org/sites/ncf/files/basic-page/Trauma_Informed_Care__Helping_Patients_with_a.8.pdf
Llynne. K. (2018). Evaluating competence and confidence using simulation technology. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/nursing/Fulltext/2018/10000/Evaluating_competence_and_confidence_using.12.aspx
Masters, K. (2018). Role Development Professional Nursing Practice . Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
National League for Nursing (NLN). (2018). NLN Foundation Advances Nursing Education on the Global Day of Giving. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/newsroom/news-releases/news-release/2018/11/13/nln-foundation-advances-nursing-education-on-the-global-day-of-giving
NCQA. (2018). A Quality Improvement Framework. Retrieved from https://www.ncqa.org/programs/health-plans/wellness-and-health-promotion-whp/
New York State Nurses Association. (n.d.). Health and Safety. Retrieved from https://www.nysna.org/health-and-safety#.XLCVNd7zxDs
The Joint Commission. (2009). Measuring Hand Hygiene Adherence: Overcoming the Challenges.
The Joint Commission. (2015). Sustaining and Spreading Improvement in Hand Hygiene Compliance
