Thinking about submitting an article to Nursing Management?
Q Can you highlight what preparation is needed before manuscript submission to Nursing Management?
Before registering for submission, I recommend that you go to the Nursing Management website (http://www.nursingmanagement.com) and review the information for authors section. Nursing Management accepts manuscripts through an online submission service at http://lwwesubmissions.edmgr.com. I recommend that you download the submission service tutorial for authors.
Pay specific attention to the word count for each section. If you exceed the word or character count, you won't be able to continue on to the next steps. For example, key words are limited to 256 characters and the abstract is 50 words or less.
Next, you'll probably need to convert your manuscript from the American Psychological Association (APA) style to the Chicago Manual of Style format. References need to follow the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style. The AMA cited references are numbered in order of initial appearance in the manuscript using superscript Arabic numerals and are listed in the references in numerical order. In your reference list, use issue numbers in parentheses after the volume numbers. The transition from your APA formatted document to AMA reference formatting will require some preparatory work before submission.
If you have any questions during the submission process, you can contact the Nursing Management editorial team at mailto:[email protected]. After you successfully submit your manuscript online, it will undergo a double-blind peer review and you'll be notified of acceptance or the need for revisions.
Talking to staff about clinical alarm safety requirements
Q My hospital is expecting an unannounced Joint Commission survey within the next 6 months. Can you provide information on the clinical alarm National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) and the steps required for compliance?
The NPSG 06.01.01 requires accredited and critical access hospitals to improve the safety of their clinical alarm systems. The clinical alarm NPSG is being implemented in two phases. The first phase went into effect on January 1, 2014, and focuses on the potential risks associated with clinical alarms. This is what your organization will need to have implemented.
Utilize the following talking points for your staff:
* Leaders of the organization have established alarm safety as a hospital priority as of July 1, 2014.
* During 2014, the organization has identified the most important alarm signals to manage based on the following criteria:
-must have documentation supporting input from medical staff and clinical departments
-assessment of patient risk if the alarm signal isn't attended to or if it fails
-assessment if specific alarms are actually needed or whether they contribute to alarm fatigue
-your organization's risk management occurrence reporting regarding the potential for patient harm
-evidence-based practice and guidelines.
The second phase will be effective January 1, 2016, and consists of requirements to include identified patient alarm risks. The primary goal is to address clinical alarms that can compromise patient safety if they aren't properly managed. This includes equipment alarms, such as cardiac monitors, I.V. machines, and ventilators, which have visual and/or auditory components.
Your organization will need to address at a minimum:
* clinically appropriate settings for alarm signals
* clear parameters for when clinical alarms can be disabled
* when actual alarm parameters can be modified
* who within your organization has been identified as the leader who has the authority to set alarm parameters (such as the patient safety officer)
* who's responsible and accountable for settings alarms to "off"
* who's accountable for monitoring and responding to alarm signals (defined in your organization's policy)
* who's responsible for equipment alarm maintenance, alarm settings, and equipment operations. (In general, this doesn't include nurse call systems and alerts from computerized provider order entry.)
Clearly, you and your organization are committed to patient safety.