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CE Patient Safety Quality Improvement

The course teaches nurses how to build a patient‑safety culture, apply QSEN competencies, conduct root‑cause analysis and FMEA, and implement national safety goals and quality‑improvement methodologies to reduce errors and improve outcomes.

Who Should Take This

Registered nurses who actively participate in error reporting, event investigation, or quality‑improvement projects will benefit. Ideal learners have at least one year of clinical experience, a commitment to patient safety, and seek practical tools to drive measurable improvements and enhance team performance.

What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI

Adaptive Knowledge Graph

Practice Questions

Lesson Modules

Console Simulator Labs

Exam Tips & Strategy

20 Activity Formats

Course Outline

64 learning goals

1 Patient Safety Culture

2 topics

Culture of safety foundations

Identify the characteristics of a culture of safety including psychological safety, non-punitive error reporting, teamwork, and organizational learning.
Explain the just culture framework distinguishing human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless behavior and the appropriate management response to each category.
Describe the differences between a punitive culture, a blame-free culture, and a just culture and their respective impacts on error reporting rates.
Analyze organizational factors that contribute to or undermine a culture of safety including leadership behaviors, reporting systems, and accountability structures.

Human factors engineering

Identify types of human errors in healthcare including slips, lapses, mistakes, and violations and describe contributing cognitive and environmental factors.
Explain the Swiss cheese model of accident causation and how latent failures and active failures interact to produce adverse events in healthcare.
Describe human factors engineering principles applied to healthcare including workflow design, alarm fatigue mitigation, and cognitive load reduction strategies.
Analyze clinical workflow scenarios to identify human factors risks and recommend design changes that reduce error potential and improve safety.

2 QSEN Competencies

2 topics

QSEN framework and informatics

Identify the six QSEN competencies: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics.
Explain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes framework of each QSEN competency and how they apply to clinical nursing practice improvement.
Describe the role of informatics in patient safety including clinical decision support, barcode medication administration, smart pumps, and EHR safety features.

Teamwork and communication

Describe structured communication tools including SBAR, CUS, and closed-loop communication and their role in preventing communication-related errors.
Explain TeamSTEPPS principles including team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and evidence-based communication strategies.
Describe handoff communication best practices including I-PASS, bedside shift report, and standardized transfer documentation to prevent information loss.
Analyze communication breakdown scenarios to identify the root failure and recommend structured communication interventions for prevention.

3 Root Cause Analysis and FMEA

2 topics

Root cause analysis

Describe the root cause analysis process including event identification, team assembly, information gathering, cause mapping, and corrective action development.
Explain cause mapping techniques including the five whys, fishbone diagrams, and contributing factor categorization for healthcare adverse events.
Analyze an adverse event scenario to identify root causes, contributing factors, and system failures using structured RCA methodology.
Synthesize corrective action plans following RCA that address root causes using strong, intermediate, and weak action categories for sustainable improvement.

Failure mode and effects analysis

Describe the FMEA process including process mapping, failure mode identification, severity-occurrence-detection scoring, and risk priority number calculation.
Explain the difference between reactive analysis with RCA and proactive analysis with FMEA and describe when each methodology is most appropriately applied.
Analyze a high-risk clinical process using FMEA methodology to identify potential failure modes, calculate risk scores, and prioritize mitigation strategies.

4 National Patient Safety Goals

2 topics

TJC safety goals

Identify the current TJC National Patient Safety Goals including patient identification, communication, medication safety, infection prevention, and fall prevention.
Explain the two-patient-identifier requirement and describe acceptable identifiers, wristband standards, and implementation strategies across care settings.
Describe medication safety goals including labeling, anticoagulant safety, look-alike sound-alike precautions, and medication reconciliation at transitions of care.
Explain the Universal Protocol for preventing wrong site, wrong procedure, and wrong person surgery including verification, site marking, and time-out procedures.
Describe clinical alarm safety goals including alarm customization, escalation protocols, default setting management, and alarm fatigue reduction strategies.

Sentinel events and compliance

Describe sentinel event definition, examples, reporting requirements, and TJC expectations for root cause analysis and corrective action following sentinel events.
Analyze clinical scenarios to identify National Patient Safety Goal compliance gaps and recommend corrective actions to meet current TJC standards.

5 Quality Improvement Methodologies

3 topics

QI frameworks

Identify quality improvement methodologies including PDSA cycles, Lean, Six Sigma, and the Model for Improvement and describe their core principles.
Explain the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle and how rapid cycle testing is used to implement and evaluate process changes in clinical settings.
Describe Lean methodology concepts including value stream mapping, waste elimination, 5S workplace organization, and standard work in healthcare applications.
Explain how to develop SMART aims for quality improvement projects specifying measurable targets, populations, and timeframes for achievement.

QI data and tools

Describe QI data collection and analysis tools including run charts, control charts, Pareto charts, process flow diagrams, and visual dashboards.
Explain the difference between common cause variation and special cause variation on control charts and their implications for process improvement.
Analyze quality metrics and process data to identify improvement opportunities, determine baseline performance, and select appropriate QI methodology.

QI project implementation

Synthesize a quality improvement project plan including team formation, aim statement, measures selection, change ideas, PDSA cycles, and sustainability planning.

6 Never Events and Serious Reportable Events

2 topics

Never event categories and prevention

Identify NQF-defined never events and serious reportable events including surgical, product, patient protection, care management, and environmental events.
Describe prevention strategies for common never events including retained surgical items, wrong-site surgery, patient falls, stage 3 and 4 pressure injuries.
Explain the regulatory and financial implications of never events including CMS non-payment policies, state reporting mandates, and public transparency requirements.

Disclosure and second victims

Describe the components of patient and family disclosure following adverse events including transparency, empathy, factual information, and ongoing support.
Explain the second victim phenomenon and describe organizational support programs for healthcare workers involved in adverse events or errors.
Analyze adverse event scenarios to determine appropriate disclosure, reporting, and follow-up actions compliant with organizational policy and state regulations.

7 Error Reporting Systems

2 topics

Reporting processes

Identify types of safety events including near misses, no-harm events, adverse events, and sentinel events and explain the importance of reporting each category.
Describe voluntary and mandatory reporting systems including hospital incident reporting, state requirements, Patient Safety Organizations, and FDA MedWatch.
Explain Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act protections for reported safety data and how PSOs promote confidential safety event analysis.

Event trending and response

Analyze safety event report data to identify trends, high-risk areas, and system vulnerabilities requiring targeted improvement interventions.
Synthesize a unit-level patient safety improvement initiative based on event trend analysis incorporating targeted interventions and outcome measurement.

8 High-Reliability Organization Principles

1 topic

HRO characteristics and application

Identify the five principles of high-reliability organizations: preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, resilience, and deference to expertise.
Explain how HRO principles apply to healthcare including daily safety huddles, stop-the-line authority, near-miss reporting culture, and error prevention tools.
Describe safety behaviors associated with HRO including peer checking, STAR technique, questioning attitude, and three-way repeat-back communication.
Analyze a healthcare unit's safety practices against HRO principles to identify reliability gaps and recommend targeted improvement strategies.

9 Medication Safety

2 topics

Medication error prevention

Identify types and causes of medication errors including prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring errors with system contributing factors.
Describe high-alert medication safety practices including independent double checks, standardized concentrations, tall-man lettering, and ISMP best practices.
Explain technology-based medication safety strategies including CPOE, barcode medication administration, smart pump drug libraries, and clinical decision support.
Analyze medication error case studies to identify system failures, human factors, and recommend technology and process improvements for prevention.

Medication reconciliation

Describe the medication reconciliation process at transitions of care including admission, transfer, and discharge with documentation requirements.
Analyze medication reconciliation scenarios to identify discrepancies, potential interactions, and duplicate therapies requiring prescriber notification.

10 Patient Engagement and Falls

2 topics

Patient engagement in safety

Describe strategies for engaging patients and families in safety including teach-back, bedside shift reports, patient advisory councils, and speak-up campaigns.
Explain shared decision-making principles and how patient engagement in care planning reduces errors and improves treatment adherence.

Fall prevention

Identify fall risk assessment tools used in acute care and describe environmental, medication-related, and patient-specific fall risk factors.
Describe evidence-based fall prevention interventions including intentional rounding, bed alarms, toileting schedules, medication review, and mobility programs.
Analyze post-fall assessment data and unit fall rates to identify contributing factors and evaluate the effectiveness of fall prevention bundles.
Synthesize a comprehensive patient safety program integrating safety culture, error reporting, QI methodology, and patient engagement for a clinical unit.

Scope

Included Topics

Patient safety culture including just culture, psychological safety, and organizational learning.
QSEN competencies and their application to clinical nursing practice.
Root cause analysis and FMEA methodologies for reactive and proactive safety analysis.
TJC National Patient Safety Goals including patient identification, medication safety, and surgical safety.
Quality improvement methodologies including PDSA, Lean, Six Sigma, and data analysis tools.
Never events, serious reportable events, and CMS non-payment policies.
Error reporting systems including mandatory and voluntary reporting, PSO protections, and event trending.
High-reliability organization principles applied to healthcare safety culture.
Medication safety including high-alert medications, technology safeguards, and reconciliation processes.
Patient engagement in safety, fall prevention, and shared decision-making strategies.

Not Covered

Advanced statistical methods beyond basic run chart and control chart interpretation.
Healthcare administration or strategic planning beyond unit-level quality improvement.
Clinical trial design or IRB processes beyond quality improvement project methodology.
State-specific regulatory codes beyond illustrative examples of safety principles.
IT system administration or EHR implementation beyond clinical end-user safety features.

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