The awards are based on the conceptual culture of safety framework developed by Sammer, Lykens, Singh, Mains and Lakan (2010) and will recognize the unique contribution of nurses in improving outcomes through the promotion of best practices in patient safety. These awards are unique because they focus specifically on the contribution of nurses.

Awards will be given in the following seven nursing patient safety award categories:

• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Communication
• Learning, Education and Training
• Just Culture
• Patient-Centered

A grand prize winner will be selected from the individual category winners. Nurses may submit one or more applications in a single award category or for multiple award categories.

Examples of safety projects led by nurses may include innovative approaches that address nurse-sensitive indicators such as the following: fall prevention, central line-associated blood stream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, vaccination programs, hand-washing, congestive heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia, stroke measures, asthma education for pediatrics, surgical care improvement/surgical infection prevention (SCIP), venous thromboembolism and/or others.

Category Descriptions

Leadership

Leaders acknowledge the healthcare environment is a high-risk environment and seek to align vision/mission, staff competency, and fiscal and human resources from the boardroom to the frontline (Sammer et al., 2010).

Properties:

• Accountability
• Change management
• Commitment
• Executive rounds
• Governance
• Open relationships
• Physician engagement
• Priority
• Resources
• Role model
• Support
• Vigilance
• Visibility
• Vision/mission (Sammer et al., 2010)

Teamwork

A spirit of collegiality, collaboration and cooperation exists among executives, staff and independent practitioners. Relationships are open, safe, respectful and flexible (Sammer et al., 2010).

Properties:

• Alignment
• Deference to expertise wherever found
• Flattened hierarchy
• Multidisciplinary/mutigenerational
• Mutual respect
• Psychological safety
• Readiness to adapt/flexibility
• Supportive
• Watch each other’s back (Sammer et al., 2010)

Evidence-Based Practice

Patient care practices are based on evidence. Standardization to reduce variation occurs at every opportunity. Processes are designed to achieve high reliability (Sammer et al., 2010).

Properties:

• Best practices
• High reliability/zero defects
• Outcomes-driven
• Science of safety
• Standardization, protocols, checklists and guidelines
• Technology/automation (Sammer et al., 2010)

Communication

Nurses are patient advocates. It is their voice and actions that help to protect, prevent and promote safety for patients. Communication can be further defined as "An environment exists where an individual staff member, no matter what his or her job description, has the right and the responsibility to speak up on behalf of a patient" (Sammer et al, 2010).

Properties:

• Assertiveness and speaking up on behalf of the patient
• Using a bottom-up approach
• Clarity
• Hand-offs
• Linkages between executives and front line/resolution/feedback
• Safety briefings/debriefings
• Structured techniques: SBAR, timeout and read-back
• Transparency (Sammer et al., 2010)

Learning, Education and Training

The hospital learns from its mistakes and seeks new opportunities for performance improvement. Learning is valued among all staff, including the medical staff (Sammer et al., 2010).

Properties:

• Awareness/informed
• Celebrate success/rewards
• Data-driven
• Education/training, including physicians
• Learn from mistakes/evaluation
• Monitor/benchmark
• Performance improvement
• Proactive
• Root-cause analyses
• Share lessons learned (Sammer et al., 2010)

Just Culture

A culture that recognizes errors as system failures rather than individual failures and, at the same time, does not shrink from holding individuals accountable for their actions (Sammer et al, 2010). The role of the nurse in changing the safety culture of a nursing unit can be challenging and yet very rewarding. A culture of safety makes the difference of harm or no harm to patients, families and fellow employees.

Properties:

• Blame-free
• Disclosure
• Non-punitive reporting
• No at-risk behaviors
• Systems—not individuals
• Trust (Sammer et al., 2010)

Patient-Centered

Patient care is centered on the patient and family. The patient is not only an active participant in his own care, but also acts as a liaison between the hospital and the community (Sammer et al., 2010).

Properties:

• Community/grassroots involvement
• Compassion/caring
• Empowered patients/families
• Exemplary patient experiences
• Focus on patient
• Formal participation in care
• Health promotion
• Informed patients/families
• Patient stories (Sammer et al., 2010)