[ler_]

Very cool point. In my ideal world a whole nursing unit or facility would be a self-correcting operation. There are problems that a nurse on the floor can fix but it takes up time. If those problems were prevented to begin with, it would be much easier. I would like a system where the nurse notices a problem and simply sends it up to a manager / supervisor who 1) finds a way to handle the immediate problem and 2) always writes up and enforces a new guideline to prevent it from happening again.

Good managers probably already do this, but healthcare has a very short supply of such people. It would be great if this type of improvement were the standard across the board. Let's say, for example, that you have latex and non-latex foley catheters mixed in the same bin in a supply closet. Your patients with latex allergies have gotten a latex catheter put in more than once and it now becomes a problem. Well, someone notices the issue, sends it up to someone above and now there is a new guideline to place the different catheters at least 3 feet apart, or something to that effect. It almost sounds silly, but people would be surprised how many of these mistakes happen over and over again due to equally silly reasons / lack of basic prevention.