Sawsan Halabi Ezzeddine
Makassed University of Beirut, Lebanon
Title: PATIENT SAFETY FROM EDUCATION TO PRACTICE
Biography
Biography: Sawsan Halabi Ezzeddine
Abstract
Health care delivery settings are making major investments to introduce and promote a culture of “Patient Safety”. Nursing education takes the lead for making essential transformations in order to graduate professionals with high levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for quality and safe practice. This necessitates that nurse educators and clinical nurse executives collaborate in order to develop nursing curricula with relevant quality and safety content. By exploring the gaps between education and developments in the practice environment, effective partnerships can be developed that address safety and quality needs.
Students may be consciously or unconsciously involved in incidents leading to patients’ harm or injury. It is important that they start their practice training in an environment that encourages openness and transparency about errors, understanding of the difference between blame and systems approach. Health care institutions need to empower students to address safety and quality practice issues scientifically shifting the paradigm from blame and shame to a more supportive learning model.
Education-practice partnerships with clear communication channels, coordination of clinical schedules, and effective preceptorship and mentorship programs are essential for student training. To minimize the education-practice gap, education and practice leaders need to work together to design curricula that prepare nurse graduates for the complex work environment and the importance of inter-professional learning and team work. Nurses can become a driving force for quality improvement when academic-practice partnerships are promoted to teach and model quality and safe practice for students and novice nurses.