How to ensure effective patient care? FHS calls for unified procedures

Higher quality, greater safety, and clearer patient care in everyday practice - these were the goals of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UWB. In January, the faculty hosted two international expert workshops focused on the systematic validation of nursing procedures.

When healthcare procedures are verified and standardized, the quality of care improves, the risk of errors decreases, and communication among healthcare professionals becomes more effective - not only within individual workplaces but also across regions and countries. The goal is therefore to ensure that all such methods and procedures are clearly defined, understandable, safe, and, above all, effective. Contributing to this effort, the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FHS) organized expert workshops in mid-January, welcoming specialists from both the Czech Republic and abroad.

The main focus of the workshops was the verification and harmonization of procedures used by general nurses, midwives, and other non-physician healthcare professionals in patient care. “The development and systematic validation of nursing procedures are an essential prerequisite for high-quality, safe, and comparable care across healthcare systems. International cooperation in this field is of key importance for our faculty,” said Jiří Frei, Dean of FHS. The workshops were endorsed by him together with Jana Nová Holoubková, Head of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery. The professional oversight of the event was provided by Alexandra Archalousová, an expert in the field of nursing.

The first workshop focused on the importance of validating nursing procedures in everyday practice, while the second addressed their systematic classification and evaluation. The research presented by experts in Pilsen is the result of collaboration primarily among nurses and midwives from many countries around the world and focuses on the systematic validation of the internationally standardized NANDA International terminology. The new findings can thus be quickly reflected in the education of future healthcare professionals as well as in everyday hospital practice and community care.

“Standardized terminology is an essential tool of the modern nursing profession. It enables not only higher-quality patient care but also a clear definition of the contribution of nursing within a multidisciplinary team,” summarized Alexandra Archalousová. According to her, the use of unified and validated procedures further strengthens the professional role of nurses and midwives within the healthcare system.

The January workshops at the Faculty of Health Sciences this year built on more than a decade of international cooperation that the faculty has long been developing through joint projects with the University of Prešov and Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. A significant part of these activities is also the faculty’s involvement in research on internationally standardized nursing terminology in cooperation with the Center for Nursing Classification and Clinical Effectiveness at the University of Iowa in the United States.