This paper examines a proposed clinical research project aimed at reducing alarm fatigue among nurses through a structured alarm management training program. Alarm fatigue — the desensitization that results from constant exposure to medical device alarms — poses a significant patient safety risk. The paper identifies internal stakeholders (clinical staff, organizational leadership, and donors) and external stakeholders (patients and families, government agencies, and medical device manufacturers), detailing each group's relationship to the project and likely stance on its implementation. It also analyzes two primary obstacles to project adoption: staff resistance and resource limitations, offering strategies to mitigate each barrier and support sustainable practice change at the clinical site.
The selected research topic is alarm fatigue and how to reduce it. As Chromik et al. (2022) indicate, alarm fatigue is a form of sensory overload that occurs when healthcare professionals are exposed to the constant noise of medical device alarms, leading to desensitization that results in delayed responses or missed alarms altogether. Based on the available literature, the research hypothesizes that alarm management training would be beneficial in reducing alarm fatigue and non-actionable alarms among nurses. This paper identifies the key stakeholders in the research and their roles, and also explores potential barriers that could affect the incorporation of the project findings at the selected clinical site.
Stakeholders in the project can be divided into two groups: internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders enjoy a direct relationship with the healthcare organization through investment, ownership, or employment. External stakeholders do not enjoy a direct relationship with the organization or the project, but are nonetheless affected by its findings.
One of the most crucial internal stakeholders is the clinical staff working in the healthcare organization. Their primary role is to ensure that the patients they serve receive proper healthcare (Liebler & McConnell, 2020). They serve as the patients' advocates. The proposed project focuses on one group of staff — nurses. Their role in the project is to undergo alarm management training in order to demonstrate how effectively such training reduces alarm fatigue, including the number of non-actionable alarms. The nurses will therefore serve as research subjects in the project. Their fatigue scores and the frequency of non-actionable alarms will be measured at baseline and upon completion of the three-month alarm management training program to determine whether there are significant differences in the pre- and post-intervention mean scores. The project has a significant effect on nurses, as it imposes an additional burden of attending compulsory training sessions and changing routine practices in order to enhance their alarm management skills.
The second group of internal stakeholders is the healthcare organization's top leadership and board of management. Their primary role is to provide leadership and ensure future sustainability by securing the resources needed to realize the organization's mission (Liebler & McConnell, 2020). These stakeholders also ensure that the organization maintains sound financial management, legal governance, and ethical policies for effective operations (Liebler & McConnell, 2020). In the project, their role is to provide the resources needed to implement the practice change and to develop policies and frameworks for its effective execution. The project imposes an additional burden on this group, requiring them to acquire the financial, human, and material resources necessary to implement the change and embed it into the organizational culture. However, they are likely to support the project because it contributes to policy improvement and enhances overall effectiveness in patient care.
The third category of internal stakeholders includes donors and volunteers who dedicate their time and resources to the success of the healthcare organization. These individuals function primarily as investors in the project. They are likely to support it, since the organization's more efficient and effective operations ultimately maximize the return on their investment and attract a broader patient base.
The first group of external stakeholders is the organization's patients and their families. Patients have an inherent interest in their health and wellbeing and will be more satisfied when they receive high-quality healthcare (Liebler & McConnell, 2020). Patients are likely to support the proposed project because, as alarm fatigue decreases, nurses are better able to serve them — reducing the risk of deaths or injuries resulting from false or non-actionable alarms. Since the healthcare industry is a consumer-driven market, patients are crucial external stakeholders; their experiences and relationships with nurses will help in assessing whether the project achieved its intended objectives.
"Patients, government, and device manufacturers"
"Staff resistance and resource limitations as barriers"
Liebler, G. J., & McConnell, C. R. (2020). Management principles for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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