The School of Nursing at Pacific Lutheran University complies with all Washington Administrative Codes (WAC) rules that relate to nursing education programs. Event reporting and recordkeeping requirements are in accordance with WAC 246-840-513 that states, “The nursing education program shall keep a log of all events reported by a patient, family member, student, faculty or a health care provider resulting in patient harm, an unreasonable risk of patient harm, or allegations of diversion, and medication errors”.
The School of Nursing is committed to fulfilling its role through reporting, investigation, analysis, plan for remediation and/or systematic corrective action of an event involving a student or faculty member that the program has reason to believe resulted in patient harm, an unreasonable risk of patient harm, diversion of legend drugs, or controlled substances, and medication errors. Systematic investigation and analysis of events qualifying for reporting and evaluation is essential to reduce risk and prevent patient harm, and protect public health and safety. This policy defines reportable events, and student, faculty, and administrator duty to report infractions based on the principles of just culture, fairness, and accountability in nursing education. Barnsteiner (2011) states that “organizations that have cultures of safety, foster a learning environment and evidence-based care, promote positive working environments for nurses, and are committed to improving the safety and quality of care are considered to be high reliability organizations (HRO).” PLU School of Nursing seeks to become a contributing member towards achieving HRO status with our community clinical partners.