Dr. Michele Lozito, a 2017 Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) graduate from Waynesburg University, had her capstone project published in the June 2018 issue of the AORN (Association of periOperative Registered Nurses) Journal.
Dr. Lozito’s article, titled “Good Catch Campaign: Improving the Perioperative Culture of Safety,” focused on improving patient safety through the implementation of a Good Catch Campaign that consisted of formal education, standardized event reporting and debriefing sessions.
“We designed this project to increase the reporting of good catches and to improve the culture of safety in our facility with the assumption that changing these factors could ultimately prevent WSPEs (wrong-site, wrong-procedure and wrong-patient errors),” stated Dr. Lozito in the article.
Throughout the six-month post-implementation period, staff members reported 391 good catches and completed relevant survey tools that showed improvement in the areas of communication openness, feedback and communication about error, frequency of event reporting, non-punitive response to error and organizational learning and continuous improvement.
Dr. Kimberly Whiteman, co-director of the DNP Program and associate professor of nursing at Waynesburg, saw first-hand Dr. Lozito’s passion for improving patient safety and quality of care.
“She worked tirelessly to help the operating room staff create a culture of safety, which research demonstrates, ultimately prevents errors,” shared Dr. Whiteman. “It was my privilege to work with her during the program and to be part of her meaningful capstone work.”
Having research such as Dr. Lozito’s Good Catch Campaign published in a national journal can be a helpful and educational reference for professionals.
“When students improve patient safety or solve a clinical problem in the workplace, patients and their families benefit,” added Dr. Whiteman. “When we take the time and effort to disseminate the projects, nurses at other institutions can transfer the knowledge gained to their workplace and strive to obtain similar improvements.”
The DNP Program at Waynesburg University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036, 202-887-6791).
Waynesburg’s Department of Nursing has recently been recognized as a top nursing school by Nursing Schools Almanac and ranked in the top 5 percent for value nationwide by College Factual, published in USA Today.
