NR 584 Week 1

NR 584 Week 1

Student Name

Chamberlain University

NR-584: Quality and Safety for Advanced Nursing Practice

Prof. Name:

Date

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs): A Critical Safety Issue

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant concern in patient safety, ranking as the second most prevalent cause of death. Despite advancements in healthcare, HAIs continue to pose a challenge due to their potential to spread infections in medical settings. Historically, communicable infectious diseases have threatened human populations, with records of epidemics dating back to epizootic diseases (Haque et al., 2020). These infections are acquired during medical care and are not present in patients at the time of hospital admission. HAIs can develop in various healthcare settings, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs), where patients have a 5 to 10 times higher risk due to factors such as immunodeficiency and the administration of medical devices (Dadi et al., 2021).

The impact of HAIs extends globally, affecting both developing and developed healthcare systems. These infections are often device-associated, caused by microorganisms in planktonic and biofilm forms. HAIs typically emerge between 48 hours and 30 days post-treatment, often due to invasive procedures, such as the use of central venous catheters, urinary catheters, vascular access devices, endotracheal tubes, tracheostomies, enteral feeding tubes, and surgical implants. Such infections can result in prolonged hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, and higher patient morbidity and mortality (Dadi et al., 2021).

Roles of Advanced Practice Nurses in Addressing HAIs

Education and Training: Advanced practice nurses (APNs) play a vital role in educating nursing staff, patients, and their families about HAIs and infection prevention strategies. They emphasize the importance of aseptic techniques, environmental decontamination, and proper hand hygiene to reduce infection transmission. APNs also serve as primary resources in identifying and managing potential infection risks among visitors and staff.

Infection Control Personnel (ICP): As infection control practitioners, APNs contribute to preventing HAIs by conducting infection surveillance, calculating infection rates, and reporting data to healthcare teams. They are responsible for staff education, implementing outbreak control measures, and consulting on employee health concerns. By monitoring infection trends and enforcing best practices, APNs help create safer healthcare environments (Haque et al., 2020).

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: APNs collaborate with other healthcare professionals to enhance infection prevention. Effective teamwork and shared mental models improve communication among nurses, laboratory staff, and infection control teams. This collaboration ensures timely infection control interventions, ultimately reducing HAIs and improving patient outcomes. Ongoing information sharing and coordinated efforts between healthcare providers are essential in minimizing infection risks.

Interest in Future Role

HAIs have always been a significant area of interest for me. Understanding that infections result from microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites highlights the need for stringent infection control measures. Bacteria, in particular, are the most common cause of HAIs. As a future advanced practice nurse specializing in infectious diseases, I aim to contribute to infection prevention and control efforts. By addressing HAIs, I can enhance patient safety, improve healthcare quality, reduce costs, and increase patient satisfaction. My goal is to implement evidence-based infection control strategies to minimize HAIs and promote optimal healthcare outcomes.

Table: Advanced Practice Nurses’ Roles in Addressing HAIs

References

Dadi, N. C. T., Radochová, B., Vargová, J., & Bujdáková, H. (2021). Impact of healthcare-associated infections connected to medical devices—An update. Microorganisms, 9(11), 2332. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112332

NR 584 Week 1

Haque, M., McKimm, J., Sartelli, M., Dhingra, S., Labricciosa, F. M., Islam, S., Jahan, D., Nusrat, T., Chowdhury, T. S., Coccolini, F., Iskandar, K., Catena, F., & Charan, J. (2020). Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections: A narrative overview. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 13, 1765–1780. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S269315