Alarm Fatigue and its Effects on Quality Patient Care Essay example --

Hospitalized patients are very much hooked up to observe devices such as heart monitors, which monitor the electric activity of the heart, or connected to a physiological monitor so their vital signs are constantly being measured. These monitors are intended to continuously assess the patients status, and solicitude if the patients status drops below what is considered normal. The increased use of monitoring devices has created a juvenile phenomenon known as alerting wear out. According to the ECRI institute (2011), apprehension fatigue occurs when the sheer number of alarms overwhelms staff and they become desensitized to the alarms resulting in delayed alarm response and missed alarms-often resulting in patient harm or counterbalance death. Alarm fatigue has become a major problem at heart the nursing community and has already had a negative impact on patient safety. Due to the adverse effects alarm fatigue is having on quality patient care, there has been a call to ac tion to adjust solutions that may deter alarm fatigue. Evidence-based practices involving quality improvement initiatives have been regularize into effect. The problem has also gained national attention from such institutions as the viands and Drug Administration (FDA) and The Joint Commission (TJC). Relevance to the Profession of breast feedingAccording to the Registered Nurse (RN) Scope of Practice Position Statement, the RN is answerable for providing safe, compassionate, and comprehensive nursing care to patients and their families with complex healthcare needs (Texas dining table of Nursing, 2011). Nurses often care for five to six patients at one clock therefore, in order to provide the best quality care, patients are often connected to monitoring devices such as, physiological monitors, venti... ...ientSafetyOrganization/Documents/PSO_Monthly_Brief/ECRI%20Institute%20PSO%20Monthly%20Brief%20v1.pdfGraham, C. K., Cvach, M. (2010). Monitor alarm fatigue Standardizing use of physiological monitors and decreasing nuisance alarms. American journal of Critical Care, 19, 28-34. doi 10.4037/ajcc201651The American Nurses Association. (2010). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive statements. Retrieved from http//www.nursingworld.org/ MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNurses/Code-of-ethics.pdfThe Texas carte du jour of Nursing. (2011). The Registered Nurse Scope of Practice. Retrieved April 2, 2012 from http//www.bon.texas.gov/practice/pdfs/ Position15-27.pdfWallis, L. (2010). Alarm Fatigue Linked to Patients Death. American Journal of Nursing, 110 (7), 16. doi 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000383917.98063.bd