Short Courses 

• Patient safety
• Record keeping
• Understanding the legislation impacting on health care delivery

Patient safety

The target group for the course is enrolled nurses. At the end of the course, the participants are able to demonstrate critical-analytical reasoning skills related to decision making in nursing by assessing risk factors in patients; demonstrating their knowledge on what measures to take to prevent accidents and how to promote the safety of patients; and monitoring the compliance requirements.

The following risk factors are addressed:

• Patient factors: pressure care; confusion; infection; patient compliance
• Environmental factors: Equipment failure; wet floors; lack of safe control over medication; dirty environment; blockage of fire escapes; lack of evacuation procedures; non-optimal functioning of climate control and air conditioning
• Personal factors: incompetent staff; unskilled staff; personnel shortage; overworked personnel

Record keeping

The target group for the course is enrolled nurses (staff nurses). The content includes legislation regarding record keeping and its implications; record formats to include time, date, designation and signatures; record keeping according to treatment guidelines; accepted abbreviations; writing skills; data management; consent forms; and confidentiality of patient records.

Different strategies of learning, like case studies, ice breakers to introduce new themes, role play to facilitate and imprint certain aspects of the learning material, brainstorming and small group interaction, are used.

Understanding the legislation impacting on health care delivery

The target group for the course is professional nurses. At the end of the course the participants are able to demonstrate critical-analytical reasoning skills related to decision making in nursing by understanding and complying with legislation related to the nursing practice; demonstrating knowledge on the new legislation and how it is going to impact on the nursing practice; acting in a manner to display knowledge of legislative determinations in the daily practice; and acting as a role model regarding the prevention of medico-legal risks. The content of the course includes: what to do when called to present evidence in court; how to handle litigation; what to do in the case of serious adverse events; referrals and communication; writing of reports; and record keeping.