The prevalence of medical errors correlates with increased risk of patient harm in the healthcare setting. Since most errors are related to systems issues/failures and not to inadequate care by providers, it is critical to understand the breadth of the problem and the best ways to prevent adverse events and medical errors to improve patient safety. 

Risk managers, administrators, and managers should be aware that there are always risks involved with business operations. Consequently, they must have solid risk management practices and programs to help identify, assess, and manage risks of all sorts. Risk management practices should be integrated across major organizational departments, initiatives, and programs, such as service delivery, safety, security, business and public communications, and supply chain, to name a few.

The goal of this course is to provide administrator professionals with an overview of risk management principles.

A ‘culture of safety’ is an often-heard term in clinical settings. Most patients require complex care, with many interprofessional teams working together. Large patient volumes, an expectation for rapid delivery of care, the consumer’s ability to choose providers, and government reimbursements all drive acute care facilities to invest in preventing or reducing errors. Improving safety is beneficial to the patient primarily, with less risk of injury or death, but also to the facility and staff, improving retention and job satisfaction, with the added benefit of extensive cost-savings.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that in 2019, 5,333 work-related injuries resulted in death. These numbers show a 2% increase over 2018 figures and represent the most significant one-year increase since 2007 (BLS, 2020a). This course discusses the story behind the statistics. The key to reducing incidents and injuries in your organization is to prevent incidents from happening. To prevent incidents, you must understand what causes them. This course will help you to understand the significant role you play in incident investigation and prevention. 

Health outcomes are influenced in myriad ways by an individual’s social environment and their community. For example, community is linked to such outcomes as body mass index, homicide rates, and suicidal behavior (Diez Roux & Mair, 2010; Bharmal et al., 2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Due to these strong influences on health outcomes, the U.S. Department Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 campaign identifies social and community context as a domain of the social determinants of health. Social determinants of health are external conditions which exist with the potential to affect a patient’s current and future health, often beyond a patient’s direct control. Of particular importance, however, is how this domain fits into the larger picture of the social determinants of health. The elements in the social and community context have been shown to help negate potentially negative consequences of the other social determinants of health (Bharmal et al., 2015).

Nearly 10% of U.S. population does not have health insurance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d.a). Healthy People 2030 is a national population and public health initiative endorsed by top U.S. government health agencies, setting health goals for the U.S. healthcare system to improve the overall wellbeing of patients in their communities. This course provides an in-depth and interactive analysis of one of the five Healthy People 2030’s domains of social determinants of health (SDOH), healthcare access and quality, and its impact on patient outcomes. 

Education access and quality is a pillar of the social determinants of health for Healthy People 2030 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). This course outlines the effects of education on an individual’s health. The four components of education access and quality include early childhood education and development, high school graduation, enrollment in higher education, and language and literacy.

The physical environment in which individuals live has a direct impact on their health and wellness and their ability to access healthcare. Healthy People 2030 identifies neighborhoods and the built environment as a domain of the social determinants of health tied to health outcomes. This course provides an in-depth analysis of this domain and how it affects the health and well-being of patient populations. The four components of neighborhood and built environment include access to healthy foods, quality of housing, crime and violence, and environmental conditions. Clinicians can leverage this knowledge to improve treatment planning for patients and health outcomes.

Social determinants of health impact the daily delivery, accessibility, and engagement of health improvement efforts. Healthcare professionals must learn how to increase awareness and interest in the determinants and find ways to engage patients, stakeholders, and other clinicians in addressing social determinants of health.

Nursing remains a top occupation in the U.S., with strong job growth projected through 2032 (U.S. Bureau of Labor, 2024). As healthcare systems evolve, nurses will play an increasingly significant role. With many nurse leaders nearing retirement, preserving their professional and institutional knowledge is crucial. Despite the importance of succession planning for leadership roles, less than 10% of healthcare organizations have a formal process in place (LaCross et al. 2019).

This course provides nurses with knowledge of the importance and development of succession planning for nursing.

Healthcare supervisors and managers are presented daily with challenges. These challenges present as process failures or those surrounding staff behaviors. An organization’s management team maps a path to support their supervisor’s success in dealing with these challenges. The approach is defined by proven characteristics, skills, and experiences. This course discusses the basic tools needed for supervisors and managers to be successful in their roles. 

The role of risk management has a significant impact on the quality outcomes of acute care organizations. It includes systems and validated processes aimed at assessing and developing interventions to mitigate risk factors and optimize quality outcomes. HCPs are stakeholders in the risk management process and can benefit from understanding risk management strategies and objectives. In this course, you will learn about risk management in the acute care setting.

The goal of this course is to provide healthcare professionals in acute care settings with information to enhance their understanding of the role they play in risk management along with proven strategies for ensuring quality outcomes in their professional practice in acute care settings. 

Within any healthcare organization, there are systems, policies, and procedures that can be improved or events that could have been prevented. A root cause analysis is a tool that helps healthcare organizations improve their systems by using a team process of discovery. When you understand how to use a root cause analysis, you can apply it to create better solutions, prevent adverse events, and create more effective and efficient systems. This course discusses what a root cause analysis is and how to use it.

This course is designed to provide greater awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, steps to take to prevent it, and methods to deal with it if it does occur. The course will focus on federal laws, liability issues, harassment policies, employee rights, supervisor responsibilities, and investigation procedures.

Writing incident reports is an important part of providing direct support services. Your reports help the person's support team respond effectively to their needs and keep them safe in the future. 

The goal of this course is to teach DSPs in IDD settings the key elements of an incident report, why they are important, and how to write them effectively.