SMART Goals for Patient Safety and Team Coordination

Introduction

In healthcare, leadership is one of the most critical factors in determining how to address a host of challenges. These issues shape the way staff members respond to various problems and work to improve quality. Two SMART goals selected for this paper are enhancing patient safety and improving team coordination. These areas were chosen based on the number of difficulties affecting different health systems (Manser, 2009).

Manser (2009) determined that these variables are interconnected with each other. Evidence of this can be seen in the following observation: "The staff's perceptions of teamwork and attitudes toward safety-relevant team behavior were related to the quality and safety of patient care. The perceptions of teamwork and leadership style are associated with staff well-being, which impacts clinicians' ability to provide safe patient care." As a healthcare professional, these goals help develop a better understanding of the most effective ways to address critical challenges (Manser, 2009).

Peer-Reviewed Articles on Patient Safety and Teamwork

The literature demonstrates that patient quality remains a continuing problem affecting numerous healthcare facilities. This is despite tremendous improvements made through increased oversight and reporting. However, Prybril (2010) determined that significant gaps still exist between the stated focus on these areas and the realities occurring on the ground. Nearly 88% of hospitals have adopted some kind of procedure for analyzing, reporting, and addressing these issues, based on boards taking a more active role in the process and carefully monitoring outcomes. Yet, despite these procedures, critical problems of accountability remain inside most organizations (Prybril, 2010).

This article is important to SMART goal number one because it illustrates the specific challenges present across a variety of health facilities. These problems affect quality and the kinds of treatment options patients receive. Improving quality requires taking a new approach that addresses critical gaps and augments current procedures. Understanding how these issues exist is the first step toward identifying the problem and moving forward to enhance quality (Prybril, 2010).

To address these kinds of challenges, Lyu (2013) determined that board oversight structures alone are not effective. Instead, she found that patient satisfaction was directly tied to the ability of healthcare professionals to work together in understanding the critical challenges facing stakeholders. Those who utilize improved communication and coordination as a team are better able to comprehend what is happening and respond effectively to various problems (Lyu, 2013).

This finding applies to the second SMART goal by showing that teamwork and communication must be used alongside the compliance procedures implemented by boards. This approach addresses gaps in care by enhancing satisfaction and providing everyone with additional ways to understand what is happening with patients. When this takes place, there is greater emphasis on examining critical issues that may have gone unnoticed. It is at this point that these insights improve quality and fulfill the requirements of the second SMART goal (Lyu, 2013).

Evidence from Credible Websites

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality determined that teamwork, patient training, and communication play an important part in patient safety. The techniques and knowledge taught to staff members help them understand what is happening and learn the best approaches for dealing with patient safety issues. This is relevant to both SMART goals because it demonstrates how these variables are interconnected with one another ("Medical Teamwork and Patient Safety," 2012).