ASSIGNMENT #1
8 PAGES
You have been asked to perform a root cause analysis as part of a team on a health and safety issue related to a sentinel event in the health care industry.
Write a paper of 8 pages that includes the following steps in a root cause analysis:
- Include the identification and definition of a health and safety problem related to a sentinel event in the health care industry.
- The common health and safety issues include blood-borne pathogens and biological hazards, potential chemical and drug exposures, waste anesthetic gas exposures, respiratory hazards, ergonomic hazards from lifting and repetitive tasks, laser hazards, hazards associated with laboratories, and exposure to radioactive material and X-ray hazards.
- Injuries may be in the form of patient or employee falls, medication errors, needlesticks, skin rashes, burns, cuts, crushed fingers, pressure sores, electrocution, health-care-facility-acquired illnesses (termed nosocomial infectionsin hospitals), and something being left inside the patient following surgery that was not supposed to be there.
- The most common and expensive injuries are pressure sores and infections.
- Research this specific health and safety issue by doing the following:
- Perform a short literature review ofat least 10–15 articles concerning how the issue is being addressed by members of the health care industry.
- Cite 5–10 articles, minimum (sources must be current within the last 5 years unless citing hallmark quality research)
- Evaluate how widespread the issue is within the health care industry.
- Using the root cause analysis process, identify at least 5–7 possible causal factors.
- Using the root cause analysis process, identify the probable root cause(s).