26TH ANNUAL ELIZABETH STERLING SOULE ENDOWED LECTURE
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Soule Lecturer Dr. Linda Aiken University of Pennsylvania |
Thursday, February 2, 2006
THE NURSING SHORTAGE: The Impact of Nursing on Patient Safety
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Linda Aiken PhD, FAAN, FRCN, RN
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research
Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing
Professor of Sociology
• Based on the IOM’s estimate of 44,000 deaths annually, medical errors rank as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States – higher than motor vehicle accidents (43,458), breast cancer (42,297), or AIDS (16,516) (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2002 )
• Why hasn't nursing, and particularly nurse staffing, received more attention with regard to its potential to improve patient safety?
• A strong evidence base suggests that focusing on nursing could significantly improve patient safety. Nurses comprise the surveillance system in hospitals for errors and adverse occurrences.
• Dr. Aiken's research demonstrates that the effectiveness of nurse surveillance is influenced by nurse staffing ratios, nurses' educational qualifications, and the quality of the work environment. For example, hospitals staffed uniformly at 4 versus 8 patients per nurse would be expected to prevent 5 deaths per 1000 patients.
• Dr. Aiken will discuss research, practice and policy implications of her work which demonstrate that nurses are one of our health care system's strongest resources to ensure patient safety.
The Elizabeth Sterling Soule Endowed Lecture was established in 1979 to honor the founding dean of the UW School of Nursing. It is an annual presentation featuring prominent nursing and health care leaders, and is supported through the Elizabeth Sterling Soule Endowed Fund.
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