NURS 3007 Week 1: Patient Safety and Fall Prevention

Flashcards covering core concepts of patient safety, fall risk assessments, hospital-acquired conditions, fire safety, restraint alternatives, oxygen safety, seizure precautions, and workplace de-escalation.

Patient Safety (WHO, 2023)

A health care discipline that aims to prevent and reduce risks, errors, and harm that occur to patients during provision of health care, providing freedom from psychological and physical injury.

Accidental Fall

A fall caused by environmental hazards, slippery surfaces, or sudden trips.

Anticipated Physiological Fall

A fall occurring in patients with identifiable risk factors, such as gait instability, weakness, or confusion.

Unanticipated Physiological Fall

A fall caused by an unexpected and unpredictable physiological event, such as a sudden seizure or syncopal episode.

Morse Fall Risk Assessment

A clinical screening tool that evaluates fall risk based on six variables: history of falls, secondary diagnosis, ambulatory aid, IV/heparin lock, gait/transferring, and mental status.

Morse Fall Risk Score Categories

Risk classification scores on the Morse scale: High Risk ($45$ and higher), Moderate Risk ($24 - 44$), and Low Risk ($0 - 24$).

Yellow Wristband

A standardized color-coded wristband worn by patients to indicate high risk for falls.

Purple Wristband

A standardized color-coded wristband indicating a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.

Red Wristband

A standardized color-coded wristband indicating allergies, such as drug allergies or cross-contaminations.

Green Wristband

A standardized color-coded wristband indicating a latex allergy.

Pink Wristband

A standardized color-coded wristband indicating a restricted extremity (e.g., due to hemodialysis access or mastectomy).

RACE Mnemonic

An acronym for fire safety response protocol: Rescue patients in danger, Alarm/activate emergency response, Confine fire by closing doors, and Extinguish the fire if safe.

PASS Mnemonic

An acronym for fire extinguisher usage: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep side to side.

Never Events

Shocking, serious, and largely preventable adverse reportable healthcare occurrences (such as wrong-site surgery or foreign objects retained after surgery) classified by the National Quality Forum (NQF) and CMS.

Hospital-Acquired Conditions (CMS 2008)

Selected preventable conditions (such as Stage 3 or 4 pressure injuries, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and falls with trauma) for which hospitals receive no additional financial reimbursement if not present on admission.

Physical Restraint

Any manual method, physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to the patient's body that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to one's body.

Chemical Restraint

Medications (such as sedatives) used to manage a patient's behavior or restrict freedom of movement that are not standard treatment for the patient's medical condition.

Alternatives to Restraints

Non-restrictive interventions used prior to applying restraints, such as using trained sitters, orienting patients, offering diversional activities, camouflaging IV lines, and attending to toileting or pain needs.

Oxygen Safety Guidelines

Safety practices for supplemental oxygen including posting 'No Smoking' signs, avoiding electrical or flammable items, upright tank storage, using water-based lubricants, and humidifying flow rates above $2\,\text{L/min}$.

Seizure Protection Interventions

Nursing actions during an active seizure: tracking time and duration, easing patient to floor/protecting head, clearing sharp objects, positioning on side to prevent aspiration, avoiding forcing open clenched teeth or putting items in mouth, and reorienting after.

De-escalation Techniques

Strategies to calm an aggressive patient, including remaining empathetic, standing $1.5\text{ to }3\,\text{feet}$ away, keeping a neutral voice tone and expression, setting clear simple limits, and offering time/silence for reflection.

Subjective Data

Information reported directly by the patient or family about their condition or symptoms.

Objective Data

Factual information directly observed, measured, or documented by the healthcare professional.