A work around is usually a temporary method for achieving a goal when the usual method is not working. In information technology a workaround is usually used to overcome hardware, programming or communication problems (Techtarget, 2005). Since a workaround is usually just a temporary fix it is abandoned once the problem is actually fixed with a long term solution. Although they can be helpful in the moment workarounds are usually viewed as a negative thing that can put a patients safety at risk. A major workaround that I witness all of the time at my hospital is when a nurse needs to print out specimen labels for a lab she collected, if the technology or printer is working, I will see them obtain a patients armband from the front desk go into a another patients room and print out the original patients specimen labels with working technology. This is a terrible idea. You should never take a patients information into another room or print another patients labels in someone elses room. This greatly increases the risk of scanning the wrong patient or making a serious mistake while printing the specimen labels. The only benefit to this workaround is that it makes it easier than calling IT and waiting for them to fix the broken computer or printer.

My hospital does really well with patient safety for the most part they are constantly adapting and finding new ways to make the environment safer. One of the major ways I see safety incidents on my trauma floor is with falls. Falls happen for a number of reasons on my units. A lot of the time we have patients with traumatic brain injuries and fractured extremities. They are often confused and will try to get up. We use cameras to monitor these patients. They alarm when the patient is trying to get out of the bed but the system is not fool proof. Sometimes there is no one around to assist the patient. Which leads me to my next point which would be short staffing. A lot of the times we do not have enough staff to assist all of the patients. Which I know is a very common problem in all hospitals.

Do you agree with The statement Yes or No? Why?