Posted: March 23rd, 2023

Patients’ Safety

Patients’ Safety: Role of Organizational Learning

• There is a need for more research in the future, to test the generalizability of results in the entire continuum of the nursing discipline. The initiative would progress science by understanding the factors that affect various aspects, including competency, performance, and patient safety.
• After the publication of “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” (2000) by the IOM, the safety of patients has been given a priority by providers, patients, families, and healthcare organizations.
• Organizational cultures play a critical role in promoting patient safety at all levels, especially learning that occurs after errors. Patient safety improvement is an outcome of individual and organizational learning. The learning takes place in organizations, leading to organizational cultural changes, which ultimately lead to accountability and openness (Firth-Cozens, 2001). Tucker and Edmondson (2003) in their study, associated organizational learning with patients and nursing outcomes. Tucker and Spear (2006) in their research on the work of nurses, established that quality and organizational improvements have a positive impact on patient and nurse outcomes. On the other hand, Draycott et al. (2006) on their study in perinatal setting, linked organized training among nurses and physicians to better infant outcomes.
• Past studies recommended that training and education should entail a fundamental understanding of safety science, the meaning of the organization’s high-reliability, assessment of safety culture, and process of performance improvement, as well as rapid cycle testing (Johnson & Maultsby, 2007; Pronovost et al., 2006; Yates et al., 2005).
• For instance, the participants’ attitudes are best recorded over time, since feelings are subject to change, depending on various factors. In addition, skill competencies, knowledge, and culture of safety in an organization are also expected to be