Patient Safety Specialist

Nashville General Hospital•Nashville, TN

About The Position

The Patient Safety Specialist serves as a patient safety and high reliability resource to staff, leaders, and physicians. This role acts as a subject matter expert on general patient safety topics, causal analysis, and action planning. The specialist collaborates with leaders, medical staff, and others to achieve patient safety goals aimed at reducing harm. They facilitate team-based causal analysis using evidence-based methods, and assist with the development and implementation of action plans and training. The role also involves creating and sharing safety lessons-learned information, supporting the integration of patient safety practices into daily operations, and acting as a visible safety champion for frontline staff. Chart reviews for harm events, staff and provider training on safety topics, and coordination of culture of safety surveys are also key responsibilities. Additionally, the specialist assists with the patient safety section of the Hospital Leapfrog Survey and collaborates with process owners to ensure requirements are met. In clinical risk management, the specialist maintains the hospital-wide incident reporting system, tracks and trends reported incidents, and prepares data for committees. They ensure consistent classification, assign investigations, and monitor timely closure of incidents. This includes investigating equipment-related problems and assisting with medical error disclosure. The role also involves making mandated state reports, maintaining the hospital’s annual Risk Management Plan and report, performing risk assessments and FMEAs, and conducting risk investigations. Training staff and providers on liability reduction, staying informed about legislative and regulatory activities, disseminating information on claims and risk control, and collaborating with compliance and legal counsel are also part of the role. The specialist assists legal counsel with claim investigations, processing, defense, and preparing testimony. In general duties, the specialist supports survey readiness and management, leads or assists multidisciplinary performance improvement teams, and performs project-based chart reviews and staff education. They manage assigned projects independently, participate as a department representative on multidisciplinary teams and committees, and support clinical operations and initiatives. The role requires attending required orientations, meetings, and in-services, maintaining professional growth, and performing other duties as assigned to cover essential department functions.

Requirements

Completion of an accredited Registered Nursing program
5+ years in clinical nursing
Basic knowledge of concepts, practices, and procedures related to quality and process improvement functions and quality tools and methodologies, to include casual analysis activities.
Working knowledge of basic business software such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred.
medical-surgical or critical care preferred
risk management experience preferred

Responsibilities

Serves as a patient safety and high reliability resource to staff, leaders and physicians, serving as a subject matter expert regarding general patient safety topics, causal analysis, and action planning.
Collaborates with Leaders, Medical Staff, and others to meet the established patient safety goals aligned with reducing harm.
Facilitates team based causal analysis using evidence-based methodology; develops and assists with implementation of action plans and related training.
Assists with agenda planning and data preparation for the Harm Committee, Falls Committee, and/or Patient Safety Committee as needed.
Creates and disseminates regular safety lessons-learned information, ie safety snapshots, safety stories, and safety alerts.
Provides support to leaders, hospital teams and committees with integrating a culture of patient safety practices into day-to-day operations.
Serves as an active and visible patient safety champion for frontline staff.
Completes chart reviews for harms events as needed for performance opportunity analysis. Events may include adverse events, Patient Safety Indicators, and nursing sensitive indicator occurrences.
Provides staff and Provider training on safety topics such as error prevention, teamwork training, and safety culture.
Coordinates culture of safety survey, action planning, and related goal setting; prepares reports of survey data; disseminates to leaders, staff, and Providers.
Assists with the patient safety practices section of the Hospital Leapfrog Survey and collaborates with process owners to ensure requirements are met.
Maintains hospital-wide incident reporting system to include managing access and system updates; tracking and trending reported incidents; prepares aggregate data for various committees.
Ensures consistent classification, assigns appropriate leader to investigate as needed, and ensures timely closure of reported incidents.
Investigates equipment-related problems; assists with medical error disclosure in accordance with policy.
Makes mandated reports to State regarding adverse events as required by State regulations, in collaboration with the Director and Executive leadership.
Maintains and updates the hospital’s annual Risk Management Plan, annual risk management report, and assists with risk management policies as appropriate.
Performs hospital risk assessments, FMEAs, and conducts risk investigations as required.
Provides staff and Provider training to enhance awareness of their role in reducing liability exposures.
Maintains awareness of legislative and regulatory activities related to healthcare risk management.
Disseminates information on claim patterns, risk control, and related regulatory changes as needed.
Collaborates with Compliance Department and legal counsel as needed.
Works with legal counsel to coordinate the investigation, processing, and defense of claims against the hospital as needed.
Collects, maintains and provides legal counsels with information and documents necessary to prepare testimony in pending litigation as needed.
Assists with survey readiness and survey management activities.
Using established problem-solving methodologies, leads and/or assist with multidisciplinary performance improvement teams.
Performs project-based chart reviews and staff education in support of performance improvement initiatives.
Effectively manages assigned projects with a level of independence in performance of the role to include problem resolution.
Actively participates as the department representative on designated multidisciplinary teams and Committees.
Supports clinical operations and clinical initiatives as assigned.
Attends required hospital-wide orientations, meetings, and in-services.
Maintains professional growth and development through seminars, workshops and professional affiliations to keep abreast of latest trends in field of expertise.
Other duties as assigned to include coverage of essential Department functions and services.