In analyzing Mr. J’s situation it is important to consider nursing-sensitive indicators and how this is an indicator of quality patient care. It is also important to note how this creates an ethical issue and to learn from the situation companywide. Many situations like Mr. J’s happen every day and are swept under the rug. Patient care should always involve patient needs along with cultural considerations while maintaining consistency with evidence based medicine practices.
Nursing sensitive indicators assist to identify potential issues related to quality that may come about during patient care. Identifying nursing sensitive indicators allows nurses to improve the quality of patient care which results in increased patient satisfaction and improved patient outcomes. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a great resource and wealth of information to assist in identifying specific indicators to apply to patient care. Nursing sensitive indicators bring light to specific patient needs.
In the case of Mr. J several nursing sensitive indicators can be identified; his recent fall resulting in a hip fracture, he has dementia, cultural and religious values, immobility, pressure ulcer risk, the use of restraints, and pain management techniques. The diagnosis of dementia identifies that Mr. J is unable or has limited ability to reason with sound judgment along with the added use of pain medications. All of these indicators can lead to quality patient care if nursing applies them correctly and it is taken seriously. In his situation, nursing sensitive indicators were not taken seriously which lead to a lapse in quality patient care. Many of the indicators related to Mr. J’s care listed above were included in the original indicators that applied to hospital-based nursing care. (American Sentinel, 2015)
Nursing sensitive indicators are based on empirically-based