What roles does the nurse play in ensuring the implementation of quality and safety initiatives?
The nurse must ensure that all federal guidelines are followed in order to continue to receive funding for the Head Start program. Without these funds Head Start would be unable to continue to operate. Some of the guidelines for funding include quality and safety initiatives that must be followed. The nurse must ensure that all staff are properly trained, medications are correct and up to date, all children must have access to healthcare, and nutritional considerations must be taken into account. Cheryl’s most important job is to make sure that the teachers caring for the children are properly trained on what to do in a medical situation or emergency.
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This is very important for safety as if any of these factors are off the child in need could end up with a medical emergency. The nurse also keeps a folder for each child regarding medications and orders from physicians. This is to ensure that the correct information is on hand when needed. The nurse ensures that all medications are out of reach of children at all times, that there are written procedures on administration and handling of medications, and documentation of medication administration. The documentation must include the child’s condition after the medication is given and their behavior. This is used for quality improvement purposes, as if the child’s condition is not improved after administration of the medication a provider needs to be contacted to reassess the child and medication dosage. Another safety initiative that must be implemented per federal guidelines is having emergency protocols and local emergency contacts listed. They must be posted in an area accessible and known to staff. Upon admission into the Head Start program the nurse must assess each student ensure that they have continuous accessible healthcare. If they do not, it is the