Hanson Urges Participants to Concentrate on the Power of One

Addressing a record-breaking 9,000 participants, AACN President Dave Hanson opened NTI 2008 by encouraging attendees to reclaim just one priority in the workplace, because even one change can positively impact patient outcomes and dramatically enhance patient safety.

“If we reclaimed one priority today, we could prevent more than 675,000 medication errors by the time we gather again next year in New Orleans – and that’s possible counting only those of us in this room today,” he said. “Each one of us, individually, could prevent 75 medication errors in that same timeframe.”

“Imagine how our influence would grow if we added the other half a million nurses who are currently caring for acutely and critically ill patients in the United States. Our impact would grow exponentially, raising the number of medication errors we could avert to more than 37 million,” Hanson said, noting that the responsibility nurses carry for their patients’ well-being is profound.

“This responsibility we share with our colleagues is something we hold constant in our minds and in our actions. I think that’s why the theme Reclaiming Our Priorities has resonated so well this year,” he added.

Preventing medication errors is just one option nurses can choose to focus on, Hanson noted, because every workplace is different.

“We must identify the biggest impediments to patient safety and maintain a laser-sharp focus on them. The impediments will vary from hospital to hospital; unit to unit. Despite being asked countless times, I cannot give you a list of the specific priorities you should reclaim, because every unit and every hospital culture is unique.”

Hanson told participants not to be overwhelmed by the daunting task of choosing the one priority they want to change. Instead, he asked them to concentrate on the power of one: one focus, one time and one person.

“We must focus on doing what only nurses can do,” he said. “We cannot continue to divert our nursing focus by regularly doing non-nursing tasks. How often are we interrupted during the course of obtaining medications to the time of administering those drugs to our patient? If we do not maintain a concentrated focus on this vital responsibility, we risk contributing to a serious error.”

Nurses must be good stewards of their time, Hanson said, adding that choosing one priority may require that they learn to say no to unnecessary, time-consuming activities that are not related to the direct care of their patients.

“Just because we are experienced and capable problem-solvers doesn’t mean we have to solve every problem or do it alone. Because of the complexity of our systems, we will encounter failures during the course of our work. The real skill comes, not in solving the problem on our own, but in using our influence to engage others in solving it with us. This is hard for us sometimes, because it often means saying no when we’re asked to do things that we think will be harmful to our patients or to ourselves.”

“One person, one nurse, can make all the difference in the world, whether it is to one patient, one family or to the culture of a unit,” Hanson said. “Each one of us must assert our voice to articulate the priorities that we demand be reclaimed. We do not have the luxury to sit back and hope that others will do it for us.”

“There is little doubt that the patient care delivery model will look very different in 10 years than it does today,” he added. “We must act now to define our desired role for the future.

“We must assert a courageous voice and articulate the contributions made by nurses. No one else can do it for us; no one is more qualified than we are to define nursing; and no one’s voice is more informed.”

Hanson encouraged participants to make the most of myriad opportunities at NTI to be open to new, more effective ways of setting priorities and to share what they’ve learned with their colleagues at work.

“If you believe we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are, then we must use this time together at NTI to prepare ourselves for creating our futures.”

“I know we can do it. I am absolutely confident that we can. Are you with me? Are you ready? Let’s reclaim some priorities!”

Print copies of Hanson’s address are available in the Information Center and online at www.aacn.org.