Patient safety and quality of care are not just concepts in a textbook—they shape what you see and experience every day in healthcare settings, the news, and even in your own or your family’s interactions with the system. This activity invites you to bridge what you are learning with real-world issues by finding and analyzing a current situation, story, or problem that directly connects to one of our key patient safety topics.
As you work through this, think about how your growing professional knowledge can help you recognize risks, propose improvements, and contribute to safer, higher-quality care.
Step 1: Choose a Topic
Select ONE of the following topics as the lens for your work:
Standardization of Practices
Promoting a Culture of Safety
Utilizing Technology
Patient Engagement
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Continuous Monitoring and Improvement
Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)
Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response
Step 2: Find a Real-World Situation
Look online for a recent situation or problem that clearly relates to your chosen topic. Possible sources include:
A news article describing a safety incident or quality improvement effort
A professional blog post or commentary about a healthcare challenge
A video (e.g., a news clip or professional talk) describing a case or problem
A case example or report you find through an online search
Choose something that feels meaningful or relevant to your current or future role in healthcare.
Step 3: In no more than 500 words, create a post that includes:
Brief description of the situation/problem
What happened? Who was involved? What was the setting?
Connection to your chosen topic
Explain clearly how this situation relates to the topic (e.g., how it illustrates issues in patient engagement, technology use, or interdisciplinary collaboration).
Application of the topic to the situation
Use course concepts to analyze what went wrong or what went well.
Propose at least two specific actions or strategies that could improve patient safety or quality in this scenario (or that explain why it was successful).
Reflection on practice
Briefly explain how this example shapes your thinking about your own role in promoting safety and quality.
General expectations:
Demonstrate critical thinking and connection to practice
Write clearly and coherently, with attention to grammar and mechanics
Maintain a professional and respectful tone in all posts