Question

1. What is a workaround? Identify a workaround (specific to technology used in a hospital setting) that you have used or perhaps seen someone else use, and analyze why you feel this risk-taking behavior was chosen over behavior that conforms to a safety culture. What are the risks? Are there benefits? Why or why not?
2. Discuss the current patient safety characteristics used by your current workplace or clinical site. Identify at least three aspects of your workplace or clinical environment that need to be changed with regard to patient safety (including confidentiality), and then suggest strategies for change.

Answer 1

Answer: Workaround is a kind of method used to overcome the problems or the situation. It means performing the work as a solution to the circumstances. One of the major workaround that has been witnessed was that the nurse was providing the medications to the patient without double checking. This was due to lack of staff members and lack of availability of supervisor. This leads to increase risk as there were no other option for the nurse to double check the dose or the calculation to reduce or eliminate the risk of medication error. In this case, risk is moreover than the benefits. This could result in to the adverse effects, poor health outcomes.