Paper Example on Nursing Staff Education in Reducing Falls as Compared to Bed Alarm

Introduction

Nurse education does not end in the nursing schools. Nurses usually get evidenced based experience in their place of work as it exposes them to the real world scenario where they can learn and implement evidence-based practices under the tutelage of the RN. In the skilled nursing homes, nurses are expected to provide the high level of medical care (Vlaeyen et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2018). The presence of the registered nurse, physical therapists, and occupational therapists make the skilled nursing facilities more preferable to most people because of the assurance of the high quality of multidisciplinary specialized care. The skilled nursing facilities offer skilled nursing services such as wound care, IV therapy, injections, physical therapy, and monitoring of vital signs and medical equipment (Radecki, Reynolds & Kara, 2018; Singh et al., 2018; Stoeckle, Iseler, Havey & Aebersold, 2018). The elderly people are often the highest percentage of people admitted to the skilled using facilities. The incident of falls in skilled nursing facilities is high as 21% of nursing home residents experiences at least one fall in 30 days (Cary et al., 2017).

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According to Eckardt & Rosenblatt (2018), fall prevention is covered by F-Tag 323 which mean that the facility must ensure that the facility protect the residents from hazards and each resident must be provided with adequate supervision and assistance to prevent accidents including falls. With respect to the directive of the Intent: 42 CFR 483.25(d) (1) and (2) accidents and supervision, this project will aim at comparing the effectiveness of staff education and hourly rounds more effective and the use of bedside alarm only in reducing the incidence of falls among the elderly (Zhao, Alderden, Lind & Kim, 2018)

Picot Question

Picot questions: In (P) nursing staff in Brook dale Plaza Lisle Skilled Nursing Facility for the elderly, (I) is staff education and hourly rounds more effective, (C) when compared to the use of bedside alarm only (O) in reducing the incidence of falls among the elderly over six months (T)

Impact of Nurse Training in Preventing Falls in Skilled Nursing Facilities

Nurse education in falls prevention in the skilled nursing facilities can significantly reduce the fall among the elderly in those facilities. Nurse education is one of the proactive strategies for fall prevention; the science-based staff training intervention can promote high-quality staff interaction and improve the impact of falls prevention. The evidence-based falls prevention and patient care quality improvement programs can be improved through nurse education (Harper, et al, 2018; Johnston et al., 2018; Jung, Lee, Shin & Lee, 2015). Based on a cluster-randomized trial in 24 skilled nursing homes, Colon-Emetic et al (2017) reported that the mean number of fall risk reduction reduced. The frequency of the falls also reduced which mean that nurse education which involved staff communion helped in reducing falls. Staff communication quality, frequency, and timeliness can help reduce falls by 50% as compared to the bedside alarms only as bedside alarm do not reduce the risk of fall but only notifies the nurses after a patient has fallen (Stoeckle, Iseler, Havey & Aebersold, 2018). On the other hand, Vlaeyen et al (2015) argue that patient may fall as a result Of balance issues, dizziness, muscle weakness and stiff joints, poor eyesight, low blood pressure, slow response times, dementia and medication side effects. Therefore, they need faster nurse's intervention from a proactive stance. It is also important to underscore the importance of multidisciplinary staff education in falls management.

Significance

Nurse education in fall prevention can help in reducing falls in the skilled nursing facilities because any intervention that targets the gaps in staff communication and coordination can improve the impact of quality fall prevention programs. Educating multi-disciplinary nurses on falls prevention can help in reducing falls and the risks of falls (Zhao, Alderden, Lind & Kim, 2018). Nurses can be educated on how to implement fall assessment tools, and proactive intervention strategies (Griffin et al., 2018). Bed alarms may malfunction whenever a patient gets out of bed which means that the nurses may not respond to the patient in time. In some cases, nurses may not be in their quarters to hear the bed alarms and in most cases, reacting to falls is not advisable (Eckardt & Rosenblatt, 2018; Griffin et al., 2018; Guirguis-Blake, et al, 2018). Proactive response to fall prevention is more effective in fall prevention if nurses can be educated how to take proactively prevent and manage falls in the skilled ensuring facilities, falls can be reduced or prevented totally.

Proposed Solution

Based on the literature above, skilled nurses education on fall prevention, hourly round, and bedside alarms can significantly help in preventing falls than having bedside alarms alone. The skilled nursing facilities can only prevent falls by imploring hourly rounds to check on the patient in addition to bed alarms. Educating the nurses on how to anticipate the patient need through hourly rounds and not wait for the bedside alarms. Multidisciplinary nurses education on falls prevention on a quarterly basis to provide new insight and a refresher course on the same. Bed alarms should not be used in isolation but should be used in addition to hourly rounds and continuous education.

References

Cary, M., Hall, R., Anderson, A., Burd, A., McConnell, E., Anderson, R., & Colon-Emeric, C. (2017). Management Team Perceptions of Risks and Strategies for Preventing Falls Among Short-Stay Patients in Nursing Homes. The Health Care Manager, 1. doi: 10.1097/hcm.0000000000000192

Colon-Emeric, C., Corazzini, K., McConnell, E., Pan, W., Toles, M., & Hall, R. et al. (2017). Effect of Promoting High-Quality Staff Interactions on Fall Prevention in Nursing Homes. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(11), 1634. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.5073

Eckardt, N., & Rosenblatt, N. (2018). Healthy aging does not impair lower extremity motor flexibility while walking across an uneven surface. Human Movement Science, 62, 67-80. doi: 10.1016/j.humov.2018.09.008

Griffin, J., Lall, R., Bruce, J., Withers, E., Finnegan, S., & Lamb, S. (2018). Comparison of alternative falls data collection methods in the Prevention of Falls Injury Trial (profit). Journal Of Clinical Epidemiology. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2018.09.006

Guirguis-Blake, J., Michael, Y., Perdue, L., Coppola, E., & Beil, T. (2018). Interventions to Prevent Falls in Older Adults. JAMA, 319(16), 1705. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.21962

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Johnston, Y., Bergen, G., Bauer, M., Parker, E., Wentworth, L., & McFadden, M. et al. (2018). Implementation of the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries Initiative in Primary Care: An Outcome Evaluation. The Gerontologist. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny101

Jones, M. (2018). Guideline: USPSTF recommends exercise and multifactorial interventions for fall prevention in older adults. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 169(4), JC14. doi: 10.7326/acpjc-2018-169-4-014

Jung, Y., Lee, K., Shin, S., & Lee, W. (2015). Effects of a multifactorial fall prevention program on balance, gait, and fear of falling in post-stroke inpatients. Journal Of Physical Therapy Science, 27(6), 1865-1868. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.1865

Radecki, B., Reynolds, S., & Kara, A. (2018). Inpatient fall prevention from the patient's perspective: A qualitative study. Applied Nursing Research, 43, 114-119. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2018.08.001

Singh, S., Kwon, A., Whitehurst, D., Friesen, K., Scott, V., Hejazi, S., & Feldman, F. (2018). Fall Prevention Mobile Clinic: A Novel Fall Prevention Program for Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Canadian Journal On Aging / La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement, 1-14. doi: 10.1017/s0714980818000284

Stoeckle, A., Iseler, J., Havey, R., & Aebersold, C. (2018). Catching Quality Before It Falls: Preventing Falls and Injuries in the Adult Emergency Department. Journal Of Emergency Nursing, 21(11). doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2018.08.001

Vlaeyen, E., Coussement, J., Leysens, G., Van der Elst, E., Delbaere, K., & Cambier, D. et al. (2015). Characteristics and Effectiveness of Fall Prevention Programs in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 63(2), 211-221. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13254

Wang, H., Song, G., Ren, W., Zhou, Y., Li, C., & Ou, L. et al. (2018). Traumatic Facial Fractures in Children and Adolescents. Journal Of Craniofacial Surgery, 1. doi: 10.1097/scs.0000000000004964

Zhao, Y., Alderden, J., Lind, B., & Kim, H. (2018). A Comprehensive Assessment of Risk Factors for Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. Journal Of Gerontological Nursing, 44(10), 40-48. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20180913-04