Nursing safety, in fact, refers to the fact that if a patient suffers physical or psychological damage in the course of care that is beyond the scope of the law, it can even lead to maternal problems and life-threatening situations. Obstetrics and gynecology is one of the higher-risk departments in hospitals, and therefore caregivers in this department have more responsibility. As patients become more aware of their legal rights and interests, the safety of obstetrics and gynecology care is receiving more and more attention. Strengthening nursing safety management and improving nursing service quality can help reduce the incidence of medical errors. Today let’s discuss several major safety hazards and countermeasures in OB/GYN nursing.
I. Inadequate cultivation of legal awareness, making it difficult to identify and deal with potential risks in a timely manner
Enhancing the safety of nursing work and protecting patients’ rights and interests requires nursing staff to have a deeper understanding of their work. At present, some nursing staff are not accurate enough in assessing potential risks and hidden dangers, and they also ignore the psychological needs and legal rights of patients, which leads to the aggravation of nurse-patient disputes and increases the risk of maternal labor. At the same time, some nursing staff lack working experience, are unfamiliar with the nursing process and system, and even treat patients with indifference, impatience or poor attitude and insufficient sense of responsibility. All these problems make patients feel bad and dissatisfied with nursing care, which affects the quality of nursing work.
Countermeasures:
Hospitals should regularly organize nursing staff to learn relevant laws and regulations, and improve the safety awareness and legal awareness of nursing staff. At the same time, combined with the actual situation, develop suitable precautionary measures and nursing safety management system, analyze and improve the existing safety hazards, constantly improve the countermeasures in nursing, and implement these countermeasures really on the ground to protect the rights and interests of patients and the safety of nursing work. Nursing staff should also improve their professional quality, continue to learn and accumulate work experience, treat patients warmly and patiently, maintain responsibility and enthusiasm for work, in order to improve the level and quality of nursing care, and give patients better nursing services.
II. Inadequate communication between healthcare professionals and patients
The emotional state of laboring women has an important impact on the clinical treatment effect. Mothers are often in a negative emotional state before giving birth, and are more prone to emotional outbursts in the postpartum period, such as irritability, anxiety, depression and other negative emotions. Especially after the birth, the mood fluctuates drastically due to the sudden relaxation from tension, which makes mothers prone to depression. Some mothers are fearful and nervous about the birth process, and this causes contractions to intensify, which aggravates the feeling of pain and increases the likelihood of post-partum depression, which affects post-partum recovery.
Countermeasures:
Good communication can improve patients’ negative emotions such as irritability, anxiety, tension, skepticism and restlessness. Hospitals need to conduct training on communication skills, including how to treat laboring women and the tone of communication. At the same time, nursing staff who are more competent in nurse-patient communication can be invited to share their work experience and advocate common learning.
III. Lack of medication safety
Medication management is crucial for mothers because they may need to receive a number of medications during pregnancy and delivery, and improper medication management may have serious implications for the safety of mothers and babies. For example, drug overdose or drug poisoning may cause life-threatening situations for the mother; adverse reactions to drugs may negatively affect the foetus and even cause congenital malformations or other developmental problems; at the same time, allergic reactions to drugs may also be harmful to the mother and child; and drug-drug interactions may reduce the efficacy of certain drugs or increase their toxicity.
Countermeasures:
To ensure maternal safety in drug therapy, healthcare professionals need to carefully manage medications, including accurately assessing the condition, clearly understanding the patient’s medical history and medication use, understanding the safety and indications of the medications, selecting medications and dosages appropriately under the guidance of the physician, monitoring the patient’s condition and drug response in a timely manner, and communicating and coordinating with the healthcare team at all times in order to ensure the safety and efficacy of the medications for the mother.
IV. Low crisis management capacity
During obstetrics and gynecology, various emergencies may be faced, such as abnormalities in the labor process: including slow progress of labor, insufficient uterine contractility or uterine rupture. These conditions may lead to complications during labor and delivery, such as placental abruption, intrauterine distress, etc.; postpartum hemorrhage: one of the most common postpartum complications. Postpartum hemorrhage may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as poor uterine contractions, postpartum uterine infection, or uterine fibroids. Fetal distress: it may be caused by placental dysfunction, fetal asphyxia or fetal umbilical cord around the neck. These situations require healthcare professionals to take timely measures to ensure the safety of the pregnant woman and the fetus.
Countermeasures:
Hospitals should strengthen training and education to provide guidance and training to the nursing team on emergency response so that they can make correct judgment quickly. Simulation drills and case discussions should be held regularly to improve teamwork and emergency response skills. When facing an emergency, healthcare workers need to remain calm and professional, make quick judgments and decisions, and work closely together. At the same time, timely communication with patients and their families, explaining the situation and providing support and reassurance to reduce their anxiety and fear.
In the future, we should focus on the safety hazards in obstetrics and gynecology care, strive to improve the medical service system, and enhance the comprehensive quality of the nursing team in order to maximize the safety and health of pregnant women and fetuses. Only through unremitting efforts and continuous improvement can nursing staff provide better nursing services to every patient and create a safer and more reliable medical environment.