Patient Safety: History, Current Models, and Future Directions for Improvement

Patient safety is a common phrase used in all aspects of healthcare. As it should be, patient safety is crucial to all that we do. However, there still exists an illusion of the presence of safety that is contained within our metrics. Safety is much more than metrics and is about how people, specifically those who work at the frontline, create safety every day under dynamic conditions. Nurses fit into the category of those who create safety at the frontline of care. Understanding current and future safety models and how to apply them is of key importance for all nurses to create safe outcomes. This chapter will discuss the current status of patient safety, current models that inform practice with applicable examples, and discuss the future of patient safety with practical application for nurses.