Defense Date
7-16-2020
Graduation Date
Summer 8-8-2020
Submission Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program
School
School of Nursing
Faculty Mentor
Yvonne Weideman
Committee Member
Daniel Garcia
Committee Member
Denise Lucas
Keywords
medical assistant, training program, skills competencies, medication administration, blood pressure measurements, pediatric growth chart measurements and documentation
Abstract
Purpose: To develop and implement an organization-based focused medical assistant (MA) Training Program for all newly hired, previously untrained MAs resulting in zero errors in medication administration, blood pressure (BP) measurements, and pediatric growth chart measurements and documentation.
Background and Significance: Ambulatory Care Clinics models are traditionally staffed by MAs who come with a wide range of education or experience leading to an assortment of skills abilities and competencies. To provide safe and effective high-quality patient care it is imperative that MAs are competent in many skills (MAERB, 2015). With no standardized training program and no system in place to perform skills competency checks, the risks of errors due to lack of knowledge and skills incompetence increases (Chapman et al., 2015; Hull et al.,2013).
Intervention and Implementation Plan: Based on anecdotal error reporting and the percentage of clinic patients impacted, training and skills competency in medication administration, BP measurement and pediatric growth chart measurements and documentation were the focus of the MA Training Program. Unannounced clinical leadership rounds at 30-45 days post program completion evaluated for ongoing competency.
Results and Implications: As a result of the training, MA skills were standardized and a zero error rate in all three skills was achieved. Future recommendations included continuation of the program with the addition of other skills, annual evaluation, and training for all clinical staff, and consideration of development of a clinical ladder to support professional growth and promotion.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Jackie, "Reducing Medical Assistants Clinical Errors through a Focused Training Program: A Quality Improvement Project" (2020). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts. 3.
https://dsc.duq.edu/dnp/3