Perceived Value of the Daily Safety Briefing.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A hospital-level daily safety briefing (DSB) is a time for leaders to come together and address recent and upcoming safety challenges in the hospital. As tools to facilitate communication and teamwork, DSBs are important, but their value has not been extensively studied. We studied the value of the DSB by means of a prospective written survey of participants of the DSB at an urban academic medical center. Participants were unit managers, directors, vice presidents, and various other hospital leaders.Ninety-seven of 114 participants completed the survey (85%). Of all the activities rated, preprocedural time-outs had the highest rating in terms of impact on patient safety (4.87 ± 0.50 on 5-point Likert scale). The DSB had a rating (4.44 ± 0.77) that was on par with The Joint Commission accreditation activities (4.47 ± 0.68) and higher than use of the Morse Fall Scale (4.10 ± 0.83). Overall, 95% of the participants felt that a DSB was an effective use of participants' time. The top two benefits of the DSB were keeping patient safety a focal point in the organization (4.54 ± 0.74) and increasing awareness about patient safety issues (4.52 ± 0.93).We conclude that the DSB improves communication among team members and is a valuable use of healthcare leaders' time.

Turning the Tides: Coping with Trauma and Addiction through Residential Adolescent Group Therapy.

TOPIC: Evidence-based group therapy in an inpatient setting that provides an integrated treatment approach for both trauma and addiction in female adolescents. PURPOSE: The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to implement and assess the impact of an integrated group therapy approach for both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescent females as part of a residential treatment program. SOURCES: The Iowa Model of EBP guided this EBP project. Judith Herman's three-stage model of trauma recovery and the Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) model served as the theoretical framework for the group therapy curriculum. Two programs, Seeking Safety, by Lisa Najavits and VOICES, by Stephanie Covington, provided a guide for group topics and activities. CONCLUSIONS: Patients that participated in Turning the Tides© group therapy curriculum reported a decrease in overall PTSD symptoms and decreased functional impairment scores, based on the Child PTSD Symptoms Scale. However, there was a statistically significant increase in the use of as needed medications following the completion of group therapy. Postgroup evaluations from patients indicated a genuine desire to engage in the group therapy as well as an increased sense of trust with facilitators. Implications for psychiatric nursing include the delivery of safe, quality patient care as evidenced by positive improvement in patient outcomes.